Maker of app-linked massager settles privacy lawsuit

Standard Innovation, the maker of the We-Vibe has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging the device collected "highly intimate and sensitive data" on customers' usage without their consent.

As of yesterday, March 13, 2017, under a proposed settlement agreement, which is still awaiting court approval, Standard Innovation (the maker of We-Vibe) agreed to destroy the data it has collected and stop collecting emails and personal user information. This is according to a news story in the Chicago Tribune. The company hasn’t yet directly issued a press release. The story goes on to say that users will be notified about any anonymized data Standard Innovation collects for internal use and will have a way to opt out of having that data shared, according to the agreement.

Standard Innovation denied any wrongdoing in the settlement, which spokesman Denny Alexander called "fair and reasonable." Some changes agreed to in the settlement have been in place since We-Vibe updated its We-Connect app and privacy notice in September, he 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 improve the app," he said.

The company also agreed to set aside roughly $3 million for people who downloaded the app and used it with a We-Vibe device and about $750,000 for people who purchased the devices alone. Each person who used the device as well as its app could receive up to $10,000, and each person who simply purchased the device could receive up to $199, according to the court records.

Once the agreement is approved, customers should be able to find information on Standard Innovation’s website regarding the settlement. In September 2016, the company issued this statement in response to the suit. “There’s been no allegation that any of our customers’ data has been compromised. However, given the intimate nature of our products, the privacy and security of our customers’ data is of utmost importance to our company. Accordingly, we take concerns about customer privacy and our data practices seriously.

“Over the course of the last few weeks, we have taken steps to further enhance the data security and privacy measures for our product offering. As part of this effort, we have engaged external security and privacy experts to conduct a thorough review of our data practices with a view of further strengthening data protection and privacy for our customers. We are also committed to better communicating our data practices.

“We are updating the We-Connect app later this month, and the update will include new in-app communication regarding our privacy and data practices and a new feature for consumers to control how their data may be used.” Here is the link to the company’s site regarding privacy updates: http://we-vibe.com/blog/we-connect-app-and-privacy-update/