Grindr: NOK 65 million fine for sharing user data upheld

Norway's data protection authority fined Grindr NOK 65 million for sharing user data with advertising partners without valid consent. Oslo District Court and Borgarting Court of Appeal both upheld the fine.

What happened

After a complaint from the Norwegian Consumer Council in 2020, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) found that Grindr had disclosed personal data about its users to third parties for behavioural advertising without valid consent. The authority also found that the mere fact that someone uses Grindr is information about their sexual orientation or sex life, which receives extra protection under the GDPR. It issued a fine of NOK 65 million in December 2021. The Privacy Appeals Board upheld the fine in 2023, and Oslo District Court did the same in 2024. On 21 October 2025, Borgarting Court of Appeal rejected Grindr's appeal in a unanimous ruling and kept the fine unchanged. According to NRK, the court also found that Grindr had shared location data with its advertising partners.

What is documented

• Datatilsynet: Grindr shared user data with advertising partners without valid consent; fine of NOK 65 million (December 2021).
• Privacy Appeals Board (2023) and Oslo District Court (2024): fine upheld.
• Borgarting Court of Appeal (21 October 2025): appeal rejected, fine maintained; Grindr ordered to pay NOK 550,000 in legal costs (NRK).
• NRK, quoting the judgment: the breach is regarded as "gross and intentional" (translated from Norwegian).

What has not been established

• Whether Grindr appealed to the Supreme Court; at the time of the ruling it was not final. We have found no public information about a Supreme Court appeal (checked 2026-10-21).
• Which advertising partners received the data and how they used it.

What this means for you

1. In the app's settings, turn off personalised advertising and ad tracking.
2. On your phone, limit or reset the advertising ID (iOS: Tracking; Android: Ads settings).
3. Assume that using an LGBTQ+ app can reveal sensitive information about you, and grant location access only while the app is in use.