Lawsuit: When Sex toys and the Internet of Things collide—what could go wrong?

[Walkir]

Sex toys and the Internet of Things collide—what could go wrong?

It was only a matter of time before the Internet of Things caught up with sex toys and led to products like apps that remotely control vibrators from an Apple or Android device via a Bluetooth connection.

And now, one of those apps is accused of being a little too connected to its users.

Standard Innovation—the maker of the We-Vibe vibrator and accompanying app—is the subject of a federal privacy lawsuit. The suit, which seeks class-action status, claims the We-Vibe vibrator app chronicles how often and how long consumers use the sex toy and sends that data to the company's Canadian servers. The suit says that the app also monitors "the selected vibration settings," the vibrator's battery life, and the vibrator's "temperature" with consumer consent. The data, along with the person's e-mail address, is stored on the vibrator-maker's Canadian servers, according to the lawsuit. (PDF) The app also has a "connect lover" feature, enabling partners to exchange text messages, engage in video chats, and "control a paired We-Vibe" device.

Click to shrink...

Sex toys and the Internet of Things collide—what could go wrong?

(S)he who has nothing to hide...
If you ever wanted to have a statistics of how you liked it... apparently there's an app for that.

Seriously, who considered THAT a good idea?


SB considered it SFW enough to post, so it doesn't go in NSFW.

 

[Nuit]

I don't see the problem with it myself, if you don't want to send the info don't download that app if my understanding is correct.

 

[Garahs]

Huh, that device appears to be rather invasive in design.

Jokes aside, I can see why they would want to track that data. And if it's accurate, they ask permission to do so.

 

[Prince Charon]

The Internet of Things is a hacker's playground. I would guess the system involved has already been hacked, which will lead to entirely new problems... especially if the hacker knows someone who has one, or is working with/for someone who knows that person.

Not going into detail, here, but anyone who is mature enough for the discussion has mist likely thought of several reasons this is a bad and creepy thing.