An app for a popular range of connected sex toys has been caught secretly recording audio of users’ sessions and storing it on the phones.
A user of the Lovense remote app, designed for use in tandem with the company’s connected vibrators, found a 6-minute audio file in the app’s folder on their Android device.
In a Reddit post, the user tydoctor said: “The file was a FULL audio recording 6 minutes long of the last time I had used the app to control my SO’s remote control vibrator (We used it at a bar while playing pool).”
The poster said they had given the app permission to use the mic and camera to enable the couple to exchange voice clips through the in-app chat feature. Not to record the pair actually using the device.
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In response, a poster claiming to represent Lovense dismissed the issue as a minor bug and assured users that “no information is sent to our servers.”
The post reads: “Regarding the sound file in question, it has already been confirmed that this is a minor bug – a temporary file that is created when someone uses the Sound Control feature.
“This cache file currently remains on your phone instead of deleting itself once your session is finished. Also, when the file is created it overwrites itself (no new files are created).”
Fix already rolled out
The ‘teledildonics’ firm says the bug hasn’t affected iOS users and says a new version of the Android app, which nixes the bug, is now live on the Google Play Store.
It adds: “The fix deletes the temporary audio file ‘tempSoundPlay’ after exiting the Sound Control feature and the app will do an additional check and delete each time the app is started.”
This isn’t the first time a sex toy company has landed in hot water for putting user privacy at risk.
Earlier this year WeVibe paid £3.1m to settle a class action suit after it was alleged the company spied on customers’ usage habits without consent.
The WeVibe app allegedly recorded intensity settings and minute-to-minute temperature variances, as well use usage times and dates.
The toys are designed for use with the We-Connect app that enables a partner to control the intensity and pattern of the vibration (in real-time) regardless of the couple’s physical vicinity to each other.
Do you trust connected sex toys to safeguard your privacy? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
