The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Sex Tech Technology

We-Vibe sued for tracking how its smart vibrators were used

Author

By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

March 14, 2017 | 2 min read

Sex-tech company We-Vibe is facing a class action lawsuit after the brand was found to be secretly gathering data on its users' sexual activity.

We-Vibe

We-Vibe

The Canadian company produces sex toys, such as its smart vibrators, which can be controlled by partners though its smartphone app.

Data tracked by the app has landed it in legal trouble though. According to the Guardian, We-Vib has been hit with a $3m USD class action lawsuit from Illonois owners of its We-Vibe 4 Plus vibrator.

Security flaws within the Bluetooth enabled vibrator were exposed by hackers at the Def Con hacking conference in Las Vegas in 2016, showing that intimate details such as device temperature, vibration intensity and usage times were sent back to parent firm Standard Innovation, building a full picture about users’ sexual activity.

Hackers also outlined that the device was vulnerable to intrusive remote hijacking, meaning it could potentially be activated by strangers.

Standard Innovation issued a statement: “At Standard Innovation we take customer privacy and data security seriously. We have enhanced our privacy notice, increased app security, provided customers [with] more choice in the data they share, and we continue to work with leading privacy and security experts to enhance the app. With this settlement, Standard Innovation can continue to focus on making new, innovative products for our customers.”

The product RRPs at around $190, people who bought the app and the device are entitled to returns of $7,500, those who only used the vibrator can claim back $199 – minus the legal fees that brought the class action lawsuit to fruition.

The Drum has explored the buzzing sex toy industry and its implication for marketers in the documentary 'The Big Turn On'.

Sex Tech Technology

More from Sex Tech

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +