this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2026
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[–] zikzak025@lemmy.world 32 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

Some electric toothbrushes have these gimmicky features where they can map your mouth while you brush and report on your hygiene habits to tell you how effectively you're brushing, or even nag you if you don't brush enough. Guessing that's the kind they have.

So for the manufacturer, why allow the device to simply use a local account to track that information, when instead they can force you to register an account online and associate your brushing habits with all of the other shadowy telemetry data being collected about us online?

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 9 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

But also, these aren't hidden features. That info should be on the box. I'm not trying to defend companies demanding your email and an account to use an electric toothbrush, but also at a certain point you gotta look at the consumer and say, you bought that. Electric toothbrushes aren't exactly a monopoly out there; you can buy one that doesn't require an email.

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 7 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

If it's not prominently displayed on the box, then it's not the consumer's fault.

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 hours ago

I agree, but I suspect that info was on the box.

[–] AnyOldName3@lemmy.world 15 points 13 hours ago

It's pretty easy to put something on the box like this can make your phone buzz if you forget to brush your teeth, and people who worry they're sometimes forgetting to brush your teeth will see that as an advantage without necessarily realising that they need to give the manufacturer their email and the right to associate it with their brushing telemetry.