Grindr, a popular hookup app, has agreed to a significant settlement in the U.K. following a lawsuit accusing the company of sharing sensitive user information, such as HIV status, with advertisers. The California-based company has agreed to pay £26 million to approximately 12,000 individuals who joined the claim filed by London law firm Austen Hays in 2024. The lawsuit alleges that Grindr breached U.K. privacy laws by sharing data with third-party companies for financial gain before April 2020, when Grindr updated its consent policies.
The shared data reportedly included users’ HIV status, recent HIV testing details, PrEP usage, and more. This information, voluntarily provided by users, could be displayed on their profiles at their discretion. The lawsuit claims that this data was shared with companies like Localytics and Apptimize for targeted advertising purposes and may have been sold to additional parties.
Austen Hays emphasized the importance of Grindr in the 2SLGBTQ+ community for facilitating connections among gay, bisexual, trans, and queer adults. The law firm stressed the need for accountability to restore trust in how user data is handled. Eligible claimants who used the free version of Grindr between 2016 and 2020 may receive £2,167 each as part of the settlement.
Grindr stated in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the settlement does not imply any admission of liability. The company acknowledged the concerns and loss of trust expressed by some U.K. users for the pre-2020 period. Notably, Grindr had previously faced legal action in Norway and lost an appeal in 2024 over similar privacy breaches.
Grindr, once solely owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd., faced pressure from the U.S. government to divest due to data privacy issues. The app was eventually acquired by San Vicente Acquisition LLC in 2020. Grindr, launched in 2009, boasts over 15 million monthly active users globally. Its latest financial report indicates a revenue of $138 million in the second quarter of 2026.