Grindr, a popular hookup app, has agreed to a substantial payout following a lawsuit in the United Kingdom. The lawsuit, filed by London law firm Austen Hays in 2024, claimed that Grindr had improperly shared sensitive user data, including HIV status, with advertisers. Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million (approximately $48.6 million Cdn) to around 12,000 individuals who joined the claim.
The lawsuit alleged that prior to April 2020, Grindr had violated U.K. privacy laws by sharing user data with other companies for financial or commercial gains. This data included details such as users’ HIV status, recent testing dates, test results, and usage of HIV prevention medication known as PrEP. The lawsuit further claimed that this information was shared with third-party companies, such as Localytics and Apptimize, for targeted advertising purposes and potentially sold to other parties.
Austen Hays emphasized that users may have assumed their information was only visible to other Grindr users and expressed concerns about the breach of privacy. The law firm highlighted the significant role Grindr plays in the 2SLGBTQ+ community in facilitating connections and encounters for gay, bisexual, trans, and queer individuals, stressing the importance of ensuring user data protection.
Eligible claimants who used the free version of the app between 2016 and 2020 are entitled to receive £2,167 or $4,050 Cdn each as part of the settlement. Grindr is set to pay out the settlement in two installments, with the first half expected by the end of this year and the remainder by March 31, 2027, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
While Grindr disputes the allegations and asserts no admission of liability in the settlement, it acknowledges the concerns raised by U.K. users about the handling of their data before 2020. This legal issue in the U.K. follows a previous incident where Norway fined Grindr for illegally sharing user data, a decision that Grindr unsuccessfully contested in 2024.
Grindr, touted as the largest social networking app for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals globally, was owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd., a Chinese gaming company, from 2018 to 2020. The U.S. government mandated Kunlun to divest its ownership due to data handling concerns, leading to the acquisition of Grindr by San Vicente Acquisition LLC in 2020. The purchase, approved by the government, raised questions about ties between the new investors and Kunlun.
Established in 2009, Grindr boasts over 15 million monthly active users worldwide. The app’s financial report for the second quarter of 2026 revealed revenue of $138 million US ($190 million CAD).
