A Canadian sex toy company has agreed to shell out an estimated $3.75 million after customers claimed their products were being used to "secretly" collect and transmit "highly sensitive information" without their consent. Individual payouts could be as high as $10,000 for U.S.-based customers who used We-Vibe's accompanying smartphone app, Fortunereported.
The affected devices from We-Vibe, whose parent company is Standard Innovation, include the We-Vibe Classic and the Rave (demoed in the video above). As Motherboardreported last year, security researchers g0ldfisk and followr told a hacking conference audience in August that they had discovered the exact nature of the data collected through use of the We-Vibe devices. A class action lawsuit was subsequently filed by two anonymous customers.
In the settlement filed earlier this month in Chicago, the company has agreed to offer two methods of collecting payment. While those who used both a vibrator and the app stand to receive up to $10,000, those who app-lessly used a We-Vibe device will be capped at $199. According to an updated report from BuzzFeed Newspublished Tuesday, the company denies wrongdoing but has vowed to destroy "most" of the collected information.
In an emailed statement to Complex Wednesday, Standard Innovation said the company has since improved their privacy notice and beefed up app security.
"We are pleased to have reached a fair and reasonable settlement in this matter," the company said. "At Standard Innovation we take customer privacy and data security seriously. We have enhanced our privacy notice, increased app security, provided customers 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."
