4 ms·

The real question is why do toothbrushes need apps in the first place?

by larsrc 2y ago

diebeforei485 2y ago
They show you if you have spent sufficient time on the front, top, and back of each tooth. Electric toothbrushes are used differently than manual brushes (you don't move them back and forth).
jshchnz 2y ago
tbh i was wondering the same thing... brush stats, time per tooth maybe?
jjeaff 2y ago
the one reason I have used the app is for my kids. it plays animations while they brush and keeps stats and let's them pick avatar colors and stuff as rewards.
- gibbitz 2y ago
  So the animations are probably all embedded mpegs because what would a toothbrush company want to manage a CDN for...
- 0xEF 2y ago
  Not that I am the world's brightest parent, or anything, but trainiing your kids to do tasks with media consumption as a reward seems like a remarkably bad idea, given how influencing that can be.
  - jjeaff 2y ago
    Influencing? Ya, that's the point, influencing them to have good behaviors. Do you reward your children with broccoli?
    - 0xEF 2y ago
      No. I taught my kid that everything should not be followed by a reward, especially things like basic hygiene. Most tasks of that nature are things we all have to do to be members of a functioning society. He has a pretty good grasp on that as an adult. He's a professional chef now, the first in our family to finish college, so I think it turned out pretty good.
DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
(Hypothetical made-up example:) "Dental" chewing gum companies would pay $$$ for info on peoples' brushing habits crossed with demographics and geographical data: if the data shows that there's a particular city or county where people brush their teeth 25-50% less than the general population then there's a good bet they should increase their ad-spend in that area, because (let's say) people who don't brush their teeth are more ameneable to buying dental-gum to offset the damage of not brushing.
- radicaldreamer 2y ago
  It’s not about data on your teeth, it’s data about your device and network… you can grab all sorts of interesting data on your spending and habits by scanning bluetooth, local network etc. as well as sending up your ip and geolocation every few minutes. That’s the really valuable stuff. The app’s purported aim is simply to get it installed onto your mobile device.
  - DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
    That would be a blatant GDPR violation if there ever was one… Fortunately for me I put my toothbrush on its own VLAN
throw101010 2y ago
To collect as much customer data as possible, to (hopefully) anonymize it and bundle it to sell them to data brokers and extract more money from their customer base... All of it with their "consent" (you installed the app and likely accepted their ToS/PIvacy Policy), under the pretense of providing them a service like counting the time/frequency of your interaction with the product or reminding you to use it (something you would already do anyways, maybe less accurately, if you are a functioning adult).
- nozzlegear 2y ago
  Or less cynically¹, people just want to track how well they're brushing their teeth between visits to the dentist. Same reason we track our water intake, calorie intake, heart rate, exercise, menstrual cycles, etc. when we could just use analog tools to do the same thing (or not track it at all). ¹ I'm not suggesting these particular companies aren't selling customer data.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
Beijinger 2y ago
Because it's cool man! BTW, I stayed over at a friend's place one time, and he donated me a new electric tooth brush. How can people even use this? I found it extremely hurtful on my teeth. I would not use it if you paid me.
- mrweasel 2y ago
  Not to be that guy, but you may be using it wrong, or it's a really cheap and not particularly well made tooth brush. I can't even imagine how it would hurt your teeth, it's just a tooth brush with small circular motions in the brush head.
  - Beijinger 2y ago
    It was definitely nothing fancy, but I found it hurtful. But maybe I just have sensitive teeth. I do get my teeth professionally cleaned every 6 months, but this is also nothing I look forward too.

The real question is why do toothbrushes need apps in the first place?

by larsrc 2y ago

The real question is why do toothbrushes need apps in the first place?

They show you if you have spent sufficient time on the front, top, and back of each tooth. Electric toothbrushes are used differently than manual brushes (you don't move them back and forth).

jshchnz 2y ago

tbh i was wondering the same thing... brush stats, time per tooth maybe?

jjeaff 2y ago

the one reason I have used the app is for my kids. it plays animations while they brush and keeps stats and let's them pick avatar colors and stuff as rewards.

gibbitz 2y ago
So the animations are probably all embedded mpegs because what would a toothbrush company want to manage a CDN for...
0xEF 2y ago
Not that I am the world's brightest parent, or anything, but trainiing your kids to do tasks with media consumption as a reward seems like a remarkably bad idea, given how influencing that can be.
- jjeaff 2y ago
  Influencing? Ya, that's the point, influencing them to have good behaviors. Do you reward your children with broccoli?
  - 0xEF 2y ago
    No. I taught my kid that everything should not be followed by a reward, especially things like basic hygiene. Most tasks of that nature are things we all have to do to be members of a functioning society. He has a pretty good grasp on that as an adult. He's a professional chef now, the first in our family to finish college, so I think it turned out pretty good.

DaiPlusPlus 2y ago

(Hypothetical made-up example:) "Dental" chewing gum companies would pay $$$ for info on peoples' brushing habits crossed with demographics and geographical data: if the data shows that there's a particular city or county where people brush their teeth 25-50% less than the general population then there's a good bet they should increase their ad-spend in that area, because (let's say) people who don't brush their teeth are more ameneable to buying dental-gum to offset the damage of not brushing.

radicaldreamer 2y ago
It’s not about data on your teeth, it’s data about your device and network… you can grab all sorts of interesting data on your spending and habits by scanning bluetooth, local network etc. as well as sending up your ip and geolocation every few minutes. That’s the really valuable stuff. The app’s purported aim is simply to get it installed onto your mobile device.
- DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
  That would be a blatant GDPR violation if there ever was one… Fortunately for me I put my toothbrush on its own VLAN

throw101010 2y ago

To collect as much customer data as possible, to (hopefully) anonymize it and bundle it to sell them to data brokers and extract more money from their customer base... All of it with their "consent" (you installed the app and likely accepted their ToS/PIvacy Policy), under the pretense of providing them a service like counting the time/frequency of your interaction with the product or reminding you to use it (something you would already do anyways, maybe less accurately, if you are a functioning adult).

nozzlegear 2y ago
Or less cynically¹, people just want to track how well they're brushing their teeth between visits to the dentist. Same reason we track our water intake, calorie intake, heart rate, exercise, menstrual cycles, etc. when we could just use analog tools to do the same thing (or not track it at all). ¹ I'm not suggesting these particular companies aren't selling customer data.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

Beijinger 2y ago

Because it's cool man! BTW, I stayed over at a friend's place one time, and he donated me a new electric tooth brush. How can people even use this? I found it extremely hurtful on my teeth. I would not use it if you paid me.

mrweasel 2y ago
Not to be that guy, but you may be using it wrong, or it's a really cheap and not particularly well made tooth brush. I can't even imagine how it would hurt your teeth, it's just a tooth brush with small circular motions in the brush head.
- Beijinger 2y ago
  It was definitely nothing fancy, but I found it hurtful. But maybe I just have sensitive teeth. I do get my teeth professionally cleaned every 6 months, but this is also nothing I look forward too.