Grindr to pay £26m in settlement with users

The settlement ends a two-year legal battle after law firm Austen Hays brought a claim in the English High Court alleging breaches of UK privacy laws over practices dating to early 2020. If divided equally, users would receive an average of £2,167.

Grindr, founded in 2009 and now claiming almost 15 million users worldwide, said the action concerned “historical data practices before 2020”, when the company was owned by Chinese gaming firm Beijing Kunlun Tech.

It said: “The settlement includes no findings or admission of liability. While Grindr disputes the allegations, it recognises and acknowledges the distress and loss of trust expressed by some of its UK users regarding that pre-2020 period.”

The company will pay £13m by the end of 2026 and a further £13m by the end of March 2027.

Grindr was sold to San Vicente Acquisition for $608m (£449m) in 2020 after US national security concerns over Chinese access to users’ data. It floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 at a $2.1bn valuation and is now worth $2.65bn.

Grindr said it had overhauled its privacy programme since 2020, “with a keen focus on the unique needs of its community”.

“Grindr is and remains a safe space for users, committed to transparency, user control and responsible data practices,” it added.