The makers of one type of connected sex toy have come under fire recently for collecting unnecessary amounts of data about their consumers' usage habits.
Presenters at Def Con have revealed that Standard Innovations Corporation (SIC) collect potentially sensitive information from their We-Vibe 4 Plus, an internet connected vibrator for couples. The device sends its temperature to SIC's servers every minute, and also collects data about changes to the level of vibration.
The good news is that SIC doesn't appear to be collecting any personally identifiable information, such as names or addresses. The bad news is that the data could still be used to inform SIC about a user's sexual experience, such as how long it takes to orgasm and what vibration levels are preferred at certain times.
SIC's user privacy policy doesn't explicitly tell users where usage data is shared and what it is used for. According to Fusion, SIC has stated that vibration data is used for "market research purposes so that we can better understand what settings and levels of intensity are most enjoyed," while temperature information is "purely for hardware diagnostic purposes."
The company goes on to say that they are in the process of "reviewing our privacy & data collection policy in an effort to provide more transparency for our customers."