Dildo Company Sued for Tracking Users

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A sex toy that links up with a smartphone app may be innovative, but the makers of popular WeVibe is a great idea. It can be controlled by either partner from any distance via cell phone. But a woman in Chicago is suing We-Vibe’s manufacturer for collecting and transmitting her information without her consent.

The toy allows consumers to personalize their experience by playing around with vibration settings on the corresponding We-Connect app, also comes with a feature with which you can connect the toy to anothers phone and allow them to take the reins. It’s able to do so by sending information, but what is meant to be a “secure connection,” isn’t exactly secure since the company also causes data to be routed through its servers.

The lawsuit also alleges that no consent was obtained from users before intercepting and transmitting their information.

Complainants now want to forbid the company from continuing to monitor its users and obtain information without their permission. They also want to destroy all the information already collected.

In a statement to Refinery29, We-Vibe says that, at this time, the company hasn’t actually been served with a lawsuit yet, and therefore can’t comment on “rumor or speculation.” However, it said, “there’s been no allegation that any of our customers’ data has been compromised.”

“If my orgasms were being tracked by an app, that’s something I’d want to know,” Lynn Comella, Ph.D., an associate professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, tells Refinery29. “We-Vibe most certainly had a responsibility to its customers to disclose that information upfront and to give users the option to opt out of their marketing research. To me, that’s simple business ethics 101, and I can certainly understand why users might be upset to learn about this after-the-fact.”

Of course, companies’ ability to use user information is nothing new, nor is the question of the ethics surrounding this capability. But it’s  something to think about the next time you’re purchasing an app-powered sex toy.