Everyone has secrets. Things they wouldn't tell just anyone – except, perhaps, their dating app. What sort of partner they're looking for. Where they go to look for them. Their sexual preferences, maybe, or details about their health.
This information is meant to help the app find suitable matches. Selling the details on to other companies is not in the users' interest.
But this is what allegedly happened with Grindr, a dating app explicitly aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. Around 12,000 app users in Britain sued the company, which they said had shared highly sensitive personal information with advertisers — even, in some cases, a user's HIV status.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, was settled earlier this week. Grindr has agreed to pay the claimants a total of 26 million pounds (€30 million; $35 million) – but stresses that this is not an admission of liability. Grindr continues to dispute the allegations, there has been no legal judgement.Grindr, a dating platform aimed at (mostly men in) the LGBTQ+ community, is alleged to have passed on sensitive personal dataImage: Andre M. Chang/ZUMAPRESS.com/picture alliance
What happens to the data you entrust to apps?
