Sex toy maker Standard Innovation faces lawsuit over tracking of usage, other data

By Bruce Brown Published September 14, 2016

From hacking concerns to a lawsuit — that is the order of issues sex toy maker Standard Innovation has been dealing with recently. Last month, hackers at DefCon in Las Vegas said Standard Innovation’s We-Vibe vibrator and smartphone app sent usage data to the company servers that could be easily hacked. Now, an Illinois resident identified as N.P. has filed a federal lawsuit, according to Ars Technica.

N.P. purchased a We-Vibe Rave vibrator for $130 and has used it “on several occasions,” the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, claims the We-Vibe’s smartphone app monitors how long and how often the vibrator is used. In addition, with consumer consent, according to Ars Technica, the vibrator’s mode and intensity settings, battery status, and temperature are monitored. Data is transmitted between the vibrator and smartphone via Bluetooth.

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From the smartphone, the collected data is transmitted to and stored on Standard Innovation’s servers. The user’s email address is collected and stored on the company servers also and is used with a “connect lover” feature of the app. With the connection feature, partners can engage in video chats, text each other, and remotely control We-Vibes paired with their respective smartphones.

“Though the data collected from its customers’ smartphones is undoubtedly valuable to the company, defendant’s conduct demonstrates a wholesale disregard for consumer privacy rights and violated numerous state and federal laws,” the lawsuit says. N.P. is alleging the Canadian company breaches both Illinois consumer fraud laws and the Federal Wiretap Act.

The suit claims that Standard Innovation customers, “would not have purchased a We-Vibe in the first place had they known that it would monitor, collect, and transmit their usage information.”

In a statement, Standard Innovation said that while, “we have not been served and we cannot comment on rumor or speculation,” the company is taking steps to “further enhance the data security and privacy measures for our product offering.”

Former Contributing Editor

Bruce Brown Contributing Editor As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…

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