Sophie Blake
A European privacy advocacy group has filed complaints with Austria’s data protection authority alleging that TikTok unlawfully tracked users’ activity across other mobile apps, including the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr, in breach of EU privacy rules.
The Vienna-based organization None of Your Business (noyb) said it submitted two complaints targeting TikTok, Grindr and mobile analytics firm AppsFlyer, arguing that the companies engaged in cross-app data sharing without a valid legal basis under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
According to noyb, TikTok obtained information about a user’s activity on other apps, including Grindr usage and shopping behavior, via AppsFlyer. The group claims this allowed TikTok to infer highly sensitive personal data, such as sexual orientation, which is subject to enhanced protections under GDPR and can only be processed under limited conditions.
The allegations stem from a data access request submitted by a user, who later discovered that TikTok had collected information beyond activity within its own app. Noyb said TikTok initially failed to fully disclose this data, only doing so after repeated follow-ups, which the group argues violates GDPR transparency and access requirements.
Noyb further alleges that Grindr and AppsFlyer lacked legal grounds to transfer such data to TikTok, and that the information was used for purposes including personalized advertising and analytics. The group has called on Austrian regulators to order an end to the practices and to impose fines that are “effective, proportionate and dissuasive.”
The complaints add to ongoing regulatory scrutiny of TikTok in Europe. Earlier this year, Irish authorities fined the company €530 million over concerns related to data transfers to China. Grindr, meanwhile, is facing separate legal action in the UK over allegations that sensitive health data was shared without user consent in previous years.
Representatives for TikTok, Grindr and AppsFlyer were not immediately available to comment on the complaints.
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