Oura’s $96M Military Deal

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Oura expanded its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (recently renamed Department of War, DOW), signing a $96 million contract to supply smart rings. Earlier trials focused on fatigue risk management and stress resilience in soldiers. Oura says this new deal will help improve readiness, recovery, and performance.

The company stressed that user data is encrypted, anonymized, and that its Private AI model processes much of the analysis on-device. Oura also stated that consumer data is not shared with the military and that DoW users will have their own data protections.

Where the backlash comes in

The backlash has been fierce. Critics zeroed in on Palantir, the surveillance-heavy firm handling parts of the system’s security. Critics see the risk of biometric surveillance, with heart rate, sleep, and stress data collected for wellness being repurposed for monitoring.

Some users have responded in highly visible ways. TikTok and Instagram clips show people throwing their Oura rings into the trash as an act of protest. Others are taking quieter steps, such as canceling subscriptions while keeping the hardware. Both reactions send the same message: once trust in a health device erodes, it’s hard to win back.

Oura’s leadership has responded directly, clarifying that consumer data is kept separate from DoW systems, that Palantir is not a direct partner but a contracted security layer, and that user data is not sold. Still, these assurances have not quelled suspicion among privacy-conscious customers.

Why this hits a nerve

History looms large here. Companies like Google and Facebook insisted they would not monetize user data. Over time, advertising empires grew precisely by turning “anonymized” behavioral data into profit engines. Wearables may not be selling health data today, but the Oura-DoW partnership shows the information is already valuable enough for governments to pay for access in specific contexts. The concern is not only about what Oura is doing now, but about what it or competitors might do later when business models shift.

What’s at stake

Why you should care

Your Oura ring is not just a sleep tracker. It’s part of a new category of biometric platforms. The DoW deal shows how valuable this data has already become, and the public reaction proves how fragile consumer trust can be. Some people are discarding the device, others are canceling memberships, and many more are now questioning whether their private health data is safe.

This matters because the trajectory of wearable technology could follow the same arc as social media and search platforms: tools that start as helpful services but gradually shift toward monetizing the very information that made them valuable. Once a company builds the infrastructure to collect and analyze your health signals, the temptation to sell that data, license it, or integrate it into broader surveillance systems grows stronger. 

The line between health insights and data monetization has blurred before. Whether wearables like Oura avoid that fate depends on how they handle partnerships, how transparent they are, and how firmly users demand accountability.

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