Business Insider reports that Oura is planning to expand its Oura wearable rings beyond health tracking to allow for payments, authentication, and more.
Well, Capitan Buzzkill (me) here wrote about Oura's security and privacy practices earlier this year, and found:
• Oura rings *don't* end-to-end encrypt users' health data;
• As such, Oura *can* access its users' data;
• Oura told me that the company *has* received U.S. government demands for users' data.
"One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."
@zackwhittaker @topher1kenobe I have been one of first backers and testers of the very first oura ring, from kickstarter or indiegogo where it went. And have also given some accessibility feedbacks, at least until I changed my room and who remembers where the ring has gone. It's years I don't use it or get in touch with them. But now it's one more reason not to use it... In theory a smart ring doing everything, from authentication to payment, would be very comfortable especially for a blind person like I am. But if politicians then can do whatever they want (especially American, no, MAGA to be more precise) I lift my middle finger up - and not to insert a ring on it!
I've never understood the appeal of these devices - They are so expensive, yet do so little.
@zackwhittaker This is the kind of reason I detest Corporations... they enable fascism with their data collection nonsense
@zackwhittaker you could be denied health insurance for underlying issues b4 you know about them, you could be denied any risk insurance for your "dangerous" sports, you could be victim to false interpretation of data/ false data / hacking... or be arrested for unknowingly being at a crime scene... or be deported for data error...
@zackwhittaker Luxury surveillance is dangerous for your wellbeing!
@zackwhittaker Yeah, if you have to use their app (and not the built in OS health app), then your data is NOT secure and is being sold.
@zackwhittaker Seems to me everyone who bought one has a case for fraud if they said it does e2e and does not.
@zackwhittaker ffs
the things i'd do for good, secure tech to be commonplace in the world
@zackwhittaker One ring to bind them all...
@zackwhittaker just more surveillance options. Sad times we live in 🤨
@zackwhittaker Why in the Christ of Hell would anyone ever wear a ring like that?
@zackwhittaker talking about not only security, but safety as well: aren't these rings the ones where, when the battery breaks down it swells to the _inside_, thus clamping your finger in something that goes hotter every minute, ending in burning you?
I'll never wear these things... for all your reasons above as well, of course
*edit*: it was a Samsung Device
https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/smart-ring-battery-injures-user
*/edit*
@zackwhittaker
"But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made."
The Nazis keep making wrong headed Tolkien references and we *still* didn't see this coming?
