Worrying news for those who’ve used the connected sex toys by Lovense. A security flaw may have leaked users’ emails, as reported by BleepingComputer. If you are (or have been) a user of Lovense devices, there are a few steps you can take to protect your information from being leaked onto the web.
first, proactive steps to take
Check out Google’s Results About You, a new tool that Google released earlier this year to help people combat the proliferation of their private information across the internet. It’ll give you a rundown of where you and your details appear online so that you can go about trying to remove them.
Punching your email address into HaveIBeenPwned allows you to see whether your email address has been involved in a significant data breach. It’s a good first step if you’ve used Lovense toys. If you used a Gmail account to sign up for Lovense, you can visit their Password Checkup tool to see if that account was involved in any known data breaches or leaks.
DeleteMe is also an option of a different kind, albeit one that requires a fee. It tasks real humans with combing the web for mentions of your personal information and manually requesting their removal, typically from large databases of past addresses, phone numbers, and the like.
I’ve used it, and the service, while expensive, did a pretty good job at sweeping away a bunch of information I didn’t want online. I even saw a decrease in the number of spam calls. But an improvement isn’t a panacea.
There’s a cheaper option with decent reviews, although I haven’t used it. So caveat emptor. It’s called EasyOptOuts. If nothing appears on any of these services, don’t forget to check back in a week or so. And keep checking for a while.
Sometimes, leaked information or details take a while to appear online. By staying on top of it, you can act quickly should it appear, rather than being surprised later on.
The post Lovense Users’ Emails Were Leaked. Here’s How To Protect Yourself. appeared first on VICE.
