The country’s data protection agency Datatilsynet had earlier found that Grindr shared personal data with advertisers.

Datatilsynet had issued the 65 million-kroner fine in 2021 over data-sharing between 2018 and 2020. Grindr will also need to pay around half a million kroner in court costs. 

The data included geographical coordinates and users’ ages and sex as well as their status as users of the app, aimed at LGBTQ+ people.

Datatilsynet had ruled that Grindr gave users insufficient information on its data-sharing practices.

It said the practices violated the European Union’s general Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in force since 2018.

Grindr took the case to a court in Oslo, where a judge dismissed its appeal on Monday, in a ruling seen by AFP.

It upheld the judgement that the app company had infringed the GDPR’s rules on consent for data-sharing.

It ruled that the data constituted “sensitive” information since it related to sexual orientation.

Norwegian media cited Grindr spokeswoman Kelly Miranda as saying that the company would consider lodging a further appeal.

Government attorneys Hanne Bjurstrøm Jahren and Thea Westhagen Edell hailed the ruling as a significant victory for privacy, stating that Grindr’s practices breached privacy regulations.