Grindr, the popular hookup app, has agreed to a substantial settlement in the U.K. following a lawsuit accusing the company of selling sensitive user information, including HIV status, to advertisers. The California-based company will pay £26 million (about $48.6 million Cdn) to approximately 12,000 individuals who joined the claim filed by London law firm Austen Hays in 2024. The lawsuit alleged that Grindr breached U.K. privacy laws by sharing user data with third parties before April 2020, when the app updated its consent policies.
According to the claim, the data shared included details such as users’ HIV status, recent testing information, and their use of HIV prevention medication. This information, voluntarily provided by users, could be displayed on their profiles. The lawsuit asserted that Grindr shared this data with companies like Localytics and Apptimize for targeted advertising purposes, possibly even selling the information to additional parties.
Austen Hays emphasized that Grindr plays a significant role in the 2SLGBTQ+ community by facilitating connections and encounters for gay, bisexual, trans, and queer individuals. The law firm stressed the importance of holding Grindr accountable and restoring trust in how user data is handled.
Users who used the free version of Grindr between 2016 and 2020 may be eligible for compensation of £2,167 or $4,050 Cdn each. Grindr, a publicly traded company, plans to disburse the settlement in two parts, with the first half expected by the end of this year and the remainder by March 31, 2027.
Despite the settlement, Grindr stated that it does not admit liability in the case. The company acknowledged the concerns and loss of trust expressed by some U.K. users for the period before 2020. This legal action in the U.K. followed a similar incident in Norway, where Grindr was fined for sharing user data without consent.
Grindr, known as the largest social networking app for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals worldwide, was previously owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd. before being sold to San Vicente Acquisition LLC in 2020. The U.S. government had ordered Kunlun to divest from Grindr due to data privacy concerns.
Having been established in 2009, Grindr boasts over 15 million monthly active users globally. In the second quarter of 2026, the app reported revenue of $138 million US ($190 million CAD) in its latest investor report.
