Here’s why hundreds of Grindr users in the UK are suing the app
Grindr in the UK. Just over 650 users lodged a claim yesterday with the country’s High Court in London. The claim alleges the dating and hookup app shared personal data with third parties.
It says this included sensitive information such as HIV status and the date people last took an HIV test. It alleges this information was then sold to third parties for commercial benefit.
Lawyers say this was in breach of British data protection laws. Grindr told The Guardian it planned to “respond vigorously to this claim, which appears to be based on a mischaracterisation of practices from more than four years ago”.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Law firm Austen Hays says beyond the 650 involved with the claim, “thousands” of UK users were affected.
Others may join the legal action. The law firm hopes to win claimants up to £100,000 ($124,000) in damages. Lawyer Chaya Hanoomanjee from Austen Hays, who is leading the claim, told the BBC the claimants “experienced significant distress over their highly sensitive and private information being shared without their consent.“Grindr owes it to the LGBTQ+ community it serves to compensate those whose data has been compromised,” she said.Besides HIV information, the claim alleges data relating to ethnicity and sexual orientation was also shared.
