Revenge porn (the sharing of another person’s private, sexual photographs or videos) is on the rise in the UK, with reports increasing by 106 per cent between 2022 and 2023.
One in 14 adults in England and Wales have experienced threats to have their intimate images shared without their consent, according to research by Refuge.
Now, German sexual health brand BILLY BOY has teamed up with agency Innocean Berlin to invent a first-of-its-kind digital condom to prevent non-consensual recordings during sex.
The CAMDOM app is “as easy to use as a normal condom” and protects users against stealth recording of photos, audio and video by blocking the camera and microphone of all devices present in the bedroom.
To do so, sexual partners place their phones close to each other and slide down a virtual button to lock their phones while performing the act.
To activate the lock, sexual partners place their phones near each other and slide down a virtual button.
German condom brand BILLY BOY said it is committed to helping young people “unlock their pleasure” by “keeping their sexual privacy private.”
If a user attempts to sneak past the lock prematurely and surreptitiously document the sexual encounter, an alarm will sound to warn others of the possible threat of non-consensual recording.
The button must be pressed simultaneously by everyone involved to unlock the camera and microphone.
The ‘digital condom for the digital generation’ was developed by Felipe Almida and can block as many devices as necessary.
Almeida said: “Nowadays, smartphones have become an extension of our body and we store a lot of sensitive data on them.”
“To protect you from recording non-consensual content, we have created the first app that can lock your camera and microphone simply by using Bluetooth.”
German condom brand BILLY BOY said it is committed to helping young people “unlock their pleasure” and that its CAMDOM app is “a technological first to protect ourselves and our sex lives in the digital realm.”
The innovative application developed by Felipe Almeida can block as many devices as necessary
If someone tries to surreptitiously record the sexual encounter while the lock is active, an alarm will sound to warn others that they may be recording without consent.
Billboards, stickers and postcards have been placed in bars, clubs, sexual health centers and around university campuses.
BILLY BOY is keen for Generation Z to download the app and protect themselves against revenge porn.
Billboards, stickers and postcards advertising CAMDOM have already been placed in bars, clubs, sexual health centers and around university campuses.
Alexander StrĂ¼mann, Brand Director, explained: ‘BILLY BOY is a brand known for protecting people in the analogue world.
“We wanted to take the next step and protect the digital generation from a threat that a regular condom can’t address, but a digital one can: namely, non-consensual media leakage during sex.”
CAMDOM by BILLY BOY is now available on Android and will soon be released on iOS.