Oura Ring has revealed a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), leading to a significant backlash online. Concerns vary from misinformation concerning data privacy to objections against the company’s alliance with the military. Some individuals wrongly guessed that personal health information from Oura’s consumer rings was being transmitted to the military. Others questioned the ethics of supporting a company partnering with the DoD.

Oura’s CEO, Tom Hale, characterized their connection with the DoD as “longstanding” in a recent press release. He remarked, “We’re proud to broaden manufacturing in the United States and are dedicated to equipping the Department of Defense with technology that emphasizes security and fosters readiness, resilience, and effectiveness to assist service members and their missions.”

Oura clarified that this collaboration is confined to its enterprise sector, distinct from consumer offerings, indicating that consumer data is not utilized for military endeavors. In a message to Mashable, Oura asserted it would “never sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third party without your explicit consent.” The announcement is “exclusively limited to our project support for U.S. service men and women,” which includes investing in manufacturing operations in Fort Worth, Texas, and collaborating with active duty military to boost soldier effectiveness and military readiness.

Oura reassured customers that unless they are service members enlisted in a DoD program using Oura Ring and have agreed to share data, their information will not be disclosed to the DoD. Hale also addressed data safety issues on TikTok.

Users voiced concerns about Oura’s association with Palantir, a software firm collaborating with intelligence agencies and defense departments. Oura mentioned, “ŌURA will be available to assist population-level analysis of risk and Readiness on Palantir’s FedStart platform,” which functions in secure settings.

Oura emphasized it does not have a partnership with Palantir, but Palantir provides the security framework for certain DoD projects involving Oura. Despite the clarifications, some customers are reconsidering their relationship with the brand. While consumer data seems protected from military application, the company’s ties to defense and intelligence contractors are affecting users’ decisions on whether to keep using the ring.

The lingering question is whether users feel at ease supporting a tech firm collaborating with the U.S. military, irrespective of data security.