Oura Lawsuit Claims Rings Cannot Measure Sleep as Advertised

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Oura Rings cannot measure a user’s sleep or cycles as advertised given that the devices lack the sensors necessary to measure brain electrical activity, eye movements, muscle tone and other key sleep parameters. 

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The 53-page lawsuit against Oura Inc. charges that the $11 billion company’s AI models, rather than track a user’s sleep stages with 79- to 95-percent accuracy as advertised, instead perform “guess work as to what may be happening based on improper inputs.” The filing accuses Oura of misrepresenting “faulty AI-based inference as reliable science” and of taking advantage of consumers who struggle with their sleep and/or have health concerns.

The case explains that the Oura Ring 4, Oura Ring 4 Ceramic and Oura Ring 5 models at issue, contrary to the defendants’ marketing claims, merely “infer sleep stage data” based on heart rate, physical movement, peripheral skin temperature and, depending on the model, blood oxygen trends, none of which measure neurological activity. 

According to the suit, proper tracking of sleep metrics requires, among other things, electrodes connected to the scalp and sensors on the eyes and chin, which typically can be done only in a hospital or lab setting. The case emphasizes that “sleep happens in the brain, not on one’s finger,” and that the unqualified “unparalleled accuracy” claims touted by Oura are bunk in light of the rings’ limitations. 

More broadly, the complaint stresses that in order to track sleep patterns, users must rely on the rings’ measurements repeatedly over time. As such, each inaccurate Oura Ring measurement compounds and shapes consumers’ understanding of their sleep quality night after night, the filing says. 

“Inaccurate sleep tracking can therefore have a profound and material effect on consumers’ lives,” the case reads. 

The lawsuit, citing peer-reviewed, independent scientific studies, states that the Oura Rings have been shown to be roughly 50 percent accurate at correctly detecting sleep stages and may over- or underestimate light sleep or deep sleep. 

The class action lawsuit says that Oura falsely advertises the sleep-measuring capabilities of its rings despite admitting to the devices’ limitations in its own technical materials, which the case says are “buried far from the marketing claims that drive sales.” Per the complaint, although Oura has conceded that using an Oura Ring is not the same as a polysomnography sleep study because the device does not measure brain activity or eye movements, the company continues to prominently advertise the rings’ ability to measure sleep stages and cycles and “attests to the accuracy of those measurements.” 

“The law does not allow this type of deceptive practice: to boldly make a claim at the point of sale regarding accurate tracking of sleep scores and sleep stages with 79% to 95% accuracy, and then disclaim it quietly in a confusing manner, and in a manual no consumer will ever read,” the Oura lawsuit states. 

Further, the suit asserts that consumers have no reason to doubt San Francisco-based Oura’s efficacy claims given that its products, according to the company, are backed by “25+ PhDs working across an in-house interdisciplinary science team,” indicating that “real doctors made these rings.” 

“Consumers have no way to know that Oura’s promises about sleep tracking were false. They are not doctors or scientists. With the rapidly developing technology that presently exists today, consumers reasonably believe this is possible. They can’t parse through all the technical documents to find the confusing fine print disclosure that Oura hides. Instead, consumers trust Oura’s prominent marketing promises and, ultimately, the numbers and sleep measurements they receive from Oura.” 

The Oura ring lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, bought an Oura Ring 4, Oura Ring 4 Ceramic or Oura Ring 5 in the United States for purposes other than resale.

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