A mass lawsuit is targeting dating app Grindr for allegedly sharing user data to third parties without consent.

The lawsuit, brought by firm Austen Hays on behalf of hundreds of London-based users of the gay dating app, accuses the company of providing highly sensitive information including HIV status and dates of recent HIV tests to third parties for commercial purposes between 2018 and 2020.

The law firm said that thousands of Grindr users in the UK may have been affected by the practice, adding that around 670 people had signed up to the lawsuit.

During the relevant period, Grindr was owned by Kunlun Tech, but subsequently sold the app to US-based venture capital firm San Vicente for over $600 million after a US government committee raised national security concerns over the Chinese company.

Chaya Hanoomanjee, managing director of Austen Hays, that "Grindr owes it to the LGBTQ+ community it serves to compensate those whose data has been compromised and have suffered distress as a result," adding that the company should "ensure all its users are safe while using the app, wherever they are, without fear that their data might be shared with third parties.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the dating app said: "Grindr has never shared user-reported health information for 'commercial purposes' and has never monetized such information."

"We are committed to protecting our users' data and complying with all applicable data privacy regulations, including in the UK."

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