GRINDR has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK class-action alleging the dating app shared users’ personal data, including HIV status and last tested dates, with third parties for commercial purposes. The settlement, disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated 2 September 2026, covers historical data practices prior to 2020 when Grindr was owned by Kunlun.
Grindr says there were no findings or admission of liability, and that the actions were taken in response to user distress and loss of trust regarding that pre-2020 period. The company notes that it has since overhauled its privacy programme (as of 2020) and emphasises that Grindr remains “a safe space” with a commitment to transparency, user control and responsible data practices.
Under the terms, Grindr will pay £13 million to counterparties by 31 December 2026 and a further £13 million by 31 March 2027. The case traces back to 2018 when the Norwegian non-profit SINTEF reported that Grindr shared HIV status and last test date with two optimisation vendors, Apptimize and Localytics; Grindr subsequently paused that data sharing. The litigation followed a UK action for more than 10,000 users.
Separately, Norway’s data protection authority previously fined Grindr £8.6 million (later reduced to £5.5 million) for GDPR violations tied to sharing sensitive data with advertisers. Grindr has contested liability but has acknowledged user concerns and states it has implemented changes to prevent similar issues.