A proposed class action filed Thursday by Clarkson Law Firm in San Francisco alleges that smart ring maker Oura misled customers about how accurately its devices track sleep. The complaint claims that Oura rings cannot measure the physiological signals necessary to assess sleep quality or identify sleep stages, and instead depend on AI-generated estimates the complaint describes as having "a coin flip’s chance of being correct."
The lawsuit follows years of online posts from Oura users reporting dissatisfaction with the device’s sleep-tracking results: some users said they felt they had slept poorly while the ring reported optimal sleep, and others expressed doubts about the ring’s ability to detect sleep cycles reliably.
According to the complaint, Oura marketed its rings to meet consumers’ desire for a device that could track sleep and sleep cycles, selling expensive tracking rings priced at $300 and up while advertising that the devices could see what only a hospital sleep lab can observe, including the four different stages of sleep. The filing notes that Oura did not merely claim to measure a heartbeat or a temperature, but asserted it could determine the wearer’s exact sleep stage — a determination the complaint says in reality requires electrodes on the scalp and eye sensors, available only in clinical settings.
Despite these limitations, the complaint says Oura promoted its ring as "built for accuracy" and offering "unparalleled accuracy." It cites past company communications that claimed 79% measurement accuracy and more recent statements asserting 95% sleep-staging accuracy compared with clinical sleep labs.
The complaint further argues that Oura cannot truly measure sleep or sleep cycles because, as it puts it, "sleep happens in the brain, not on one’s finger."
Oura did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment about the lawsuit.
Ryan Clarkson, co-founder and managing partner at Clarkson Law Firm, said in an emailed press release: "When people rely on a device to guide decisions about their health, misinformation cannot be tolerated. Oura users trust that the numbers on their screen reflect reality. People structure their days, interpret the way they feel, and design their lives around inaccurate figures spit out by these devices. Marketing an inaccurate sleep tracker as precise and reliable is dangerous because people believe it — and change their behavior accordingly."
The complaint asks the court to force Oura to stop advertising capabilities the products do not deliver, seeks injunctive relief to prevent continued misrepresentation, and requests restitution for consumers who purchased the devices based on the allegedly false claims.
Why this matters
The case highlights tensions between marketing claims and actual performance in consumer wearable health devices. As more people rely on device-generated health data, inaccuracies can influence daily decisions and health behaviors. The lawsuit aims to secure clearer disclosures and compensation for customers who say they were misled.
