Gay dating app Grindr could be taken to court by hundreds of users who are claiming that the app shared their personal information, including their HIV status, with advertising firms.
Law firm Austen Hays is today lodging a claim in the High Court, stating that Grindr is in breach of UK data protection laws and alleging that it unfairly shared users’ data with third parties including adtech companies Localytics and Apptimize.
The case against the app, which was founded in 2009 as an online dating app aimed at gay men and now has millions of users worldwide, will focus on breaches it claims occurred in the period before April 3 2018 and between May 25 2018 and April 7 2020.
Austen Hays claims that the data sharing meant that a potentially unlimited number of third parties were able to target and/or customise adverts to users.
The law firm is alleging that the third and/or fourth parties may have shared the data for their own purposes after the advert has been aired, and that Grindr received payment for the data sharing.
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A Grindr spokesperson told The Guardian: “We are committed to protecting our own users’ data and complying with all applicable data privacy regulations, including in the UK.”
The spokesperson added that Grindr intends to respond “extremely seriously” to the claim, but argued that it amounted to “a mischaracterisation” of the firms practices several years ago.
Austen Hays managing director Chaya Hanoomanjee, who is leading the claim, said: “Our clients have experienced significant distress over their highly sensitive and private information being shared without their consent, and many have suffered feelings of fear, embarrassment and anxiety as a result”.
“Grindr owes it to the LGBTQ+ community it serves to compensate those whose data has been compromised and have suffered distress as a result, and to ensure all its users are safe while using the app, wherever they are, without fear that their data might be shared with third parties.”
