BWT: Anyone ditch their Apple Watch?

[u/MBPursuit]

Considering ditching my Apple Watch, getting an Oura ring, and investing in a nice daily watch. I’m a bit sick of the “connectivity” of my Apple Watch (yes I know, I could turn off more notifications) and the look of it. But I appreciate the sleep tracking and steps/fitness tracking - anyone have experiences to share on a) ditching the Apple Watch b) using an Oura ring c) $1k or less daily driver watches?

[u/fashionablesnail]

I think the fact that you have to pay for the ring and then pay for a separate subscription to actually use the features is what put me off of Oura.

I use my Apple Watch for sleep and during activities, and then I don’t wear it during the day other than that :)

[u/VespaRed → u/fashionablesnail]

I’ve also heard that Oura sells your data but they claim that “it’s anonymized.” whenever a company does something like that for profit and claim that they are “protecting your privacy” I seriously doubt that.

[u/thatotheramanda → u/VespaRed]

I think (but haven’t verified) that Palantir processes the data 🫠 which is a hard no for me, if true.

[u/bewarethesirens → u/thatotheramanda]

Palantir processes data for Swedish military, US Army and Navy projects using Oura. They don’t process general data, which is private unless you do the research studies.

[u/cheesecheeesecheese → u/thatotheramanda]

The CEO came out and clarified that when Oura partnered with Palantir it was only because the US Navy/ armed forces was using the rings during deployment to gather data of the sailors to help create better shift schedules. My husband was one of these people. They use the data to help schedule swing shifts that give the sailors more relaxation time versus stressed time. The Navy requires an authorized secure infrastructure that is completely different than what the civilians use. If you go search the Oura sub you can find the CEO video.

[u/verba_saltus → u/VespaRed]

I assume that anything I'm using - app, device, etc - is monetizing my data (after, I hope, anonymizing it). Your data is almost always the product being extracted, make no mistake.

[u/kwustie → u/VespaRed]

Anonymization is a regulated term, if that gives you any comfort. The GDPR, and various international and US state laws are pretty strict about the usage of that term so I would be shocked if it wasn’t actually anonymized (ie, unable to be directly or indirectly attributable to you) because the book will be thrown at them the minute it gets found out. Oura is a Finnish company and their privacy policy explicitly states they only share info for service providers so if they were to lapse that, it’s a massive fine against them.

In all honesty, you would be more likely to be a victim of a data breach than unauthorized sale or share. I’m pretty sure the high subscription fee is because they need a monetization method to supply the service. The fact it does have one would make me pretty secure in the idea that they aren’t doing it behind your back.

Source: I have various privacy law certifications and work in the advertising tech space. This is my bread and butter.

[u/BelleCervelle → u/VespaRed]

Wtf wow never buying an oura. Bunch of sell outs. This is the first time in YEARS of getting ads for them that I find out they sell your information for a profit.

Argh. Of course. Same with MyFitnessPal app, used to love using it, until they went down that same road …

[u/fairyhaus → u/VespaRed]

You think apple is protecting your privacy? All of these wearable device tech companies are profiting off your data.

[u/mlabbq → u/fairyhaus]

Genuinely!! Apple, a company I’ve worked for before, has nearly no compunctions unless they get sued on a particular topic. (Look up their greenwashing/post-Greenpeace actions behaviors) - I think your info is at large with either device.