An Illinois woman is suing the makers of a We-Vibe intimate massager, after she says she discovered that the “smartphone-enabled” sex toy sent detailed, intimate information on her usage habits to its manufacturer.
The claim, filed in Federal court in Chicago, is looking to declare the suit a class action, and charges that Standard Innovation invaded the privacy of thousands of users of the We-Vibe 4 Plus, who also downloaded the “We-Connect” app, enabling them to control their vibrators from their cell phones. Two We-Vibe users can also connect via the app and control each others devices using a live-streaming function. The device retails for between $140 and $180.
We-Vibe claims to be the world’s top manufacturer of couples vibrators, and says it has sold more than two million units in all fifty states and six countries (and recognized with nine “prestigious industry awards!”. The We-Vibe 4 Plus is the company’s first foray into a smartphone-sex toy pair up.
Apparently, when in use, the vibrators recorded all sorts of intimate data including date, time, length of session and “usage details”—and without asking users if they consented. The complaint alleges that the company used the app to then monitor its customers’ activity over the course of weeks and months.
For its part, Standard Innovation says that, while it does collect information from users, it analyzes the data in aggregate so that no single user is readily identifiable (though they didn’t indicate whether an interested party, or a sketchy employee, could drill down into a user’s profile). They do say they’re adding security to their programs and that they haven’t yet been hacked.
Yet.
At this year’s DEFCON conference, security researchers and hackers took apart the We-Vibe massager and its app and demonstrated several key security flaws in the software that could allow third parties to intercept key data. They also noted that the data streaming was nowhere in We-Vibe’s terms and conditions.
And although the hackers’ purpose was more to push users to demand clearer and more concise privacy agreements, the findings ended up alarming enough to at least one user that she’s accusing We-Vibe’s maker of violating privacy and consumer protection standards.
The lawsuit does bring into question how much privacy can really be expected in the era of “Internet of Everything”—the advent of a new generation of WiFi- enabled devices (especially when the Internet of Everything really does mean everything). It’s one thing if your smartphone-controlled refrigerator, thermostat or sound system is streaming data back to a central server; it’s another thing if your sex toy is keeping tabs on your bedroom activities.