Adult toy maker fined £2.4 million for tracking users’ sexual activity

A sex toy company was forced to pay out a staggering $10,000 (£6,120) after tracking customers' usage of their 'smart vibrators'.

The Canadian brand agreed to pay the sum following a lawsuit in 2017 when its 'We-Vibe 4 Plus' was found to be collecting and sending data back to its parent company, Standard Innovation.

A description of the £90 toy read: "Touch the screen to control the vibrations and build intensity. Tease and please with custom vibes you create.

"Turn on your lover when you connect and play together from anywhere in the world. Build excitement with secure in-app voice, chat and video."

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The court documents revealed that around 300,000 people purchased the item, with roughly a third of those using the app.

The company insisted the information had only been used for "diagnostic purposes."

One person, who purchased the toy, called the ordeal "appalling".

She told the Daily Mirror in 2017: "I thought I was sharing something with my partner that was private between us two. I didn't even think for one second that it was giving information to the company.

"It's not just the fact they did it without our knowing, it's what they actually collected - it's personal, it's like giving someone your preferences in bed, what turns you on, and they measured that.

"It's appalling. It's ridiculous that they thought they could do that."

Standard Innovation said in a statement at the time: "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."

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.