Grindr facing lawsuit for sharing users' HIV status, sexual preference

Grindr facing lawsuit for sharing users' HIV status, sexual preference
23 Apr 2024

Grindr, a popular dating app, is currently facing a lawsuit in London, over accusations of sharing users' private data with advertising firms without their consent.

The shared data allegedly includes sensitive information, such as users' HIV status and testing dates, ethnicity, and sexual preference.

The collective lawsuit implicates adtech firms including, Localytics and Apptimize, in the alleged data sharing.

Grindr had shared user data with adtech firms
Problem

The lawsuit alleges that Grindr shared user data with the implicated adtech firms prior to April 2018, and resumed this activity between May 2018 and April 2020.

In April 2018, following an inquiry by BuzzFeed News and Norwegian non-profit organization SINTEF, Grindr admitted to sharing HIV-related data with Apptimize and Localytics.

The company pledged to discontinue this practice at that time.

Grindr has a history of sharing users' private information
Past incidents

This is not the first time Grindr has been accused of disclosing users' private information.

A 2022 article from The Wall Street Journal suggested that the exact location data of Grindr users, had been on sale for a minimum of three years.

In 2021, Norway's data protection authority imposed a $6 million fine on Grindr for breaching the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, stating that Grindr had illegally shared "personal data with third parties for marketing purposes."