The Insidious Rise of the Smart Ring Empire: A Threat to Your Liberty?
For years, the smart watch has reigned supreme, with giants like Apple and Google duking it out for dominance. But now, a quiet revolution is brewing in the shadows, as startups like Ultrahuman and Oura make their move to capture the lucrative market of finger-worn wellness trackers.
The latest salvo from Ultrahuman, the Indian startup, is its new Ring Air, which comes equipped with AFib detection, a feature previously reserved for smart watches. But at what cost? For the low, low price of $4.90 per month, you can enjoy the convenience of having your heart rhythm monitored at the touch of a button. Or, as we like to call it, the beginning of the end of your freedom.
AFib detection is powered by FibriCheck, a photoplethysmography-based technique that uses light to measure changes in blood volume as your heart pumps. But what’s the real purpose of this “innovation”? Is it really just about helping you live a healthier life, or is it a Trojan horse for the government to monitor your every heartbeat?
And don’t even get us started on the “PowerPlugs” platform, which allows third-party developers to build apps and services on top of Ultrahuman’s health data stack. This is just a euphemism for “we’re going to harvest your data and sell it to the highest bidder”. And what about privacy? “We only send de-identified anonymized data to these services so there isn’t any risk of data privacy breach,” says Ultrahuman’s CEO. Yeah, right.
The game is afoot, folks. The smart ring is no longer just a harmless trinket; it’s a full-blown surveillance device, waiting to capture your every move. So, will you join the ranks of the brave and bold, who will not be swayed by the siren song of “convenience” and “innovation”? Or will you succumb to the temptation of the ring, and sacrifice your freedom for the promise of a healthier life? The choice is yours.
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