Grindr loses appeal

21. oktober, 2025

Today it was announced that the appeal by dating app Grindr’s was unsuccessful, and the administrative fine of 65 million NOK (ca €5.5 million) is upheld. The Norwegian Consumer Council now expects the industry to change its practices to comply with the law.

The case began in 2020, when the NCC uncovered how Grindr was sharing consumers’ personal data with several commercial partners.

Following decisions from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority and the Privacy Appeals Board, plus a ruling in the Oslo District Court, the Court of Appeal has issued its decision: Grindr has violated the General Data Protection Regulation, and the fine of 65 million NOK is upheld.

As Grindr shared its users’ personal data for advertising purposes, the Court concluded that the company’s claim that it “we do not sell your personal user information to third parties for advertising purposes” is clearly misleading.

Expectation of change

– We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has confirmed that Grindr’s practice of uncontrolled sharing of special category data with third parties is illegal. Such violations of consumers’ privacy are severe, says Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad, Director of Digital Policy. He hopes that the decision will lead to significant changes to the industry.

– We now expect that the digital advertising industry, which profits from extensive tracking and profiling of consumers, to make fundamental changes to how they operate to bring their practices into accordance with the law and to respect fundamental rights, says Myrstad. He adds:
– There should not be a free-for-all when it comes to collecting and sharing personal data.

– A strong signal

– The collection, sharing, and exploitation of personal data is out of control, and now it is finally being cracked down on. This decision sends a strong signal to all companies in the commercial surveillance industry, Myrstad said. 

The practice is problematic for several reasons, according to Myrstad:

– There are many examples of how such information is being used to manipulate and influence everything from elections to targeting advertising at consumers in vulnerable situations. In the worst cases, such data can be used to persecute minorities.

Hopes the decision is final

Now that the Grindr case has been concluded in the Court of Appeal, Myrstad hopes that this story is settled once and for all.

– The complaint was filed nearly six years ago, and since then we have had four different institutions confirming that what Grindr did was illegal and upheld the significant administrative fine. We hope that this marks the end of this case, Myrstad concluded.