Lovense: bluetooth sex toy secretly recording orgasms

 

Reports have surfaced that Lovense, a remote control sex vibrator, was secretly recording an intense session. 

This news surfaced when a user of Reddit discovered that their Lovense remote control app was ‘unknowingly’ recording audio of a six minute intimate session between the two lovers.

But, what the heck is Lovense?

For starters, it’s a vibrator with bluetooth connectivity. It is controlled remotely from a mobile app, and based on reviews, can do incredible stuff to the body and spirit. 

Back to the recording. The couple noticed that the vibrator recorded the six minute session and stored the file in the phone storage.

But another commenter claiming to be a Lovense representative, said the recordings were the result of a “minor software bug.”

The rep added that the bug only affects the Android version of the app (iOS users win, again). The bug will be fixed in the latest version. 

But how does this manage to record?

A lot of the time when we install apps, we just keep hitting ‘Allow’ when permissions are requested. The Lovense app clearly requested for access to the device’s microphone and video. But this was supposed to be for just sending messages in chats, not recording sessions that can be listened to later. Other users in the thread later confirmed that they found similar files on their devices. The files were mostly labelled ‘tempSoundPlay.3gp.’

This is low-key disturbing.

“Hi, I’m Chucky. Wanna play?”

Remember that creepy toy from that creepy movie? This is what a stalking sex toy feels like, except this one is not trying to kill you. But it could be doing something else; it could be taking user data without permission. And this is not the first time sex toys are collecting user data without permission. We've seen crazy sex toy scenarios, like the shop that wanted to pay 28 thousand pounds per year to get someone to jerk off. But this is another level of crazy.

The makers of We-Vibe, Lovense’s competition, had to be pay out $3.75 million in a class-action lawsuit, because its app recorded info on user habits. 

But Lovense is saying, “no guys, we’re not about that life.” According to their website, no “sensitive data” passes through its servers. Even messages sent between users is encrypted.

But these guys can’t be trusted, considering everyone wants all that data you get to walk around with everyday. You’re probably wondering, what data is there to collect when using a vibrator? User behaviour (We-Vibe).

Imagine what a company would do if they could gather data on how their users respond to sensations, at a particular intensity and time. It’d be helping them gather feedback they can use in building better products, and make more money. If a vibrator can collect data, imagine what a male sex robot will collect.

Guess who’ll be helping a company make all that money without your consent? You.