Let’s talk about sex (again), shall we? Sex has pretty much been a constant in our history. It has had a profound effect on the various cultures of our world since prehistoric times—its social and political impact have been unavoidable—and, obviously, we wouldn’t be here without the birds and the bees. But that doesn’t mean that sex doesn’t come with any taboos anymore. Most people still refuse to admit whether they would ever want to speak to a sex therapist.

On top of that, sex therapy remains unaffordable for most, uncomfortable for some, and there is little out there in terms of cheaper (and less awkward) digital offering. That’s where the new sex therapy app Blueheart comes in to help. The app has just raised £1 million of seed funding and won investors over by offering digital counselling to “improve the sex lives of 100 million people.” Yes, please!

Blueheart’s therapy is designed for people who either do not want to speak with a real sex therapist, or for those who simply can’t afford to pay for one of these over-expensive real-life sessions. On the app, sessions are done digitally using audio and written materials and are, for now, specifically for women in relationships experiencing low libido.

While body-positivity and the sex-positivity movement are both on the rise, along with our new wellness obsession and more and more people turning to indie erotic filmmaking platforms such as Else Cinema, the fact that sex therapy remains such a taboo aspect of what should be seen as completely normal considering the amount of time most people spend having sexual intercourse clearly highlights how much work needs to be done.

Speaking to Sifted, Blueheart’s co-founder and CEO Sachin Raoul said “We’re bringing something truly pioneering to the market and aiming to transform how we talk about and engage with the topic of sex in the process.” With the rise of platforms such as the sleep and meditation app Calm or the holistic healthcare service Healing Clouds, a digital approach to sex therapy had somehow not yet been done.

Don’t get me wrong, digital therapy represents, in my opinion, some problems that can’t be ignored. But when it comes to mental health and its undeniable link to someone’s own sexual pleasure, it’s taken us way too long to finally start opening up about it ‘being okay to not be okay’. Hopefully, Blueheart will mean that we won’t have to wait this long again to tackle stigmas about sexual issues.

By offering “thought sessions,” which focus on sexual fears and anxieties, “body sessions,” which centre around building a positive relationship with your body and “connection sessions,” which focus on how to communicate, Blueheart might be the first app to finally tackle stigmas surrounding sex and encourage more individuals to openly speak up about the fact that their sex life might not be going so well all the time.

Launched in beta phase last year, the app has already attracted several thousand users. Now, this new funding will be used to expand the therapy sessions Blueheart offers, advance therapeutic research as well as the app’s AI capabilities to ensure each user receives the best possible experience. So, what are you waiting for? Want to spill the beans in order to spice up your sex life? Start by taking Blueheart’s assessment.

The rise of the teledildonics industry, also known as connected sexual pleasure products, creates new fun ways for us to pleasure ourselves and our partners, with inventions such as vibrating Wi-Fi-enabled butt plugs and webcam-connected dildos. But teledildonics, just like everything else in our modern age it seems, are another privacy nightmare ridden with security flaws. Since 2018, there have been a number of reported hacked sex toys, and the most recent case makes me wonder: should we go back to good old non-connected sex toys just to avoid them getting hacked mid-sesh?

Privacy counts across all aspects of life, especially as we live surrounded by and depending on technology. That’s why, when it comes to smart sex toys, our privacy should count even more. According to Mozilla, an internet-connected device (sex toys included) has five minimum security standards: it must use encrypted communications, have automatic security updates, require a strong password, have a system in place for vulnerability management, and, finally, have a privacy policy that is easily accessible. I don’t know about you, but I’ve personally never checked for these five conditions in a sex toy before.

Evidently, I’m not the only one. Most recently, a woman had her butt plug hacked and controlled while she was presenting on stage. It later turned out to be a stunt designed to demonstrate to the audience just how susceptible these devices are to getting hacked. This incident sparked a frenzy as people feared it would happen to them. Not only would having your vibrator hacked be very strange, but it would also be done without your consent—just like the data-collection techniques that are used by Facebook, Alexa, and most technologies.

In 2017, a man called Alex Lomas walked around Berlin and had to use only his phone in order to pull up a list of Bluetooth discoverable Lovense Hush butt plugs, ready to be hacked, just to manifest how easy it was. Last year, SEC Consultants looked at sex toys from Vibratissimo and demonstrated how they could be broken into by hackers not only to “remotely pleasure” people, but also to access owners’ account details. Even more worrying, a Wi-Fi-connected dildo’s internal camera was found to be easily accessible.

What can be said about hacking sex toys and consent laws? Because these are quite uncharted territories, we don’t know just yet what to do when someone hacks a sex toy or its data. In some countries, such as the U.S., laws that define what constitutes sexual harassment or assault vary from state to state. In many countries, the law is still vague about the definition of assault and sexual harassment. In the U.K., sexual harassment is defined as: “unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature which violates your dignity, makes you feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated, and creates a hostile or offensive environment.” The lack of precision surrounding sexual harassment and assault laws prevents us from taking concrete action in the event of a sex-toy hack. Worse yet, we don’t even know whether our data can be hacked into and stolen in the first place.

While the aim of this article isn’t to inspire anxiety and ignite a global wanking paranoia, it should force you to sit back and ask yourself, “What are the privacy implications of using a Bluetooth-connected sex toy?” Last time we ignored such concerns we ended up with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Trump as the President of the U.S., and a moronic Brexit. Even though hacking sex toys isn’t yet defined as assault or sexual harassment, it may very well be regarded so once lawmakers start tackling the issue. In the meantime, maybe it’s worth dusting off the old non-connected sex toy hidden under your bed and relieve the stress with some alone time, if you know what I mean.