Jump to content

Miku: Difference between revisions

From Consumer Rights Wiki
← Older edit
VisualWikitext
Left4Code (talk | contribs)
confirmed
38 edits
m added broader implications, checking why the reference is broken
removed incomplete notice and fixed capitalisation
 
(20 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Incomplete}}
{{InfoboxCompany
{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Miku
| Name = Miku
Line 9: Line 7:
| Logo = Miku.jpg
| Logo = Miku.jpg
}}
}}
Miku is a private for-profit company that was founded in 2018 by Eric White.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 Oct 2019 |title=Our Founder Shares Why He Built the Miku Smart Baby Monitor |url=https://mikucare.com/blogs/blog/founder-eric-white-miku-baby-monitor |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Miku]]}}</ref> Miku sells smart baby monitors with features such as night vision, sensors for temperature, humidity and ambient light, a 1080p camera, 7-day video storage, and audio/video recording capabilities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Specs |url=https://mikucare.com/pages/specs |url-status=live |access-date=3 Apr 2025 |website=[[Miku]]}}</ref> Both the Miku Smart Baby Monitor (standard model) and Miku Pro come with a 12-month manufacturer warranty from the date of purchase.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Miku Inc. Limited Warranty |url=https://mikucare.com/pages/warranty |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Miku]]}}</ref>
'''Miku''' is a private for-profit company that was founded in 2018 by Eric White.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 Oct 2019 |title=Our Founder Shares Why He Built the Miku Smart Baby Monitor |url=https://mikucare.com/blogs/blog/founder-eric-white-miku-baby-monitor |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Miku]]}}</ref> Miku sells smart baby monitors with features such as night vision, sensors for temperature, humidity and ambient light, a 1080p camera, 7-day video storage, and audio/video recording capabilities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Specs |url=https://mikucare.com/pages/specs |url-status=live |access-date=3 Apr 2025 |website=[[Miku]]}}</ref> Both the Miku Smart Baby Monitor (standard model) and Miku Pro come with a 12-month manufacturer warranty from the date of purchase.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Miku Inc. Limited Warranty |url=https://mikucare.com/pages/warranty |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Miku]]}}</ref>
 
 
 


==Consumer-impact summary==


*User freedom: Miku has a history of taking previously free cloud features and putting them behind a paywall, [[Miku Charges Subscription for Previously Free Features]]
*User privacy: Miku can share data of you and your child with third parties and retain it after closing your Miku account.
*Business model: Private, for-profit. Sells smart baby monitor products and services related to them.
==Incidents==


===Miku charges subscription for previously free features (''2023'')===
[[File:Miku website 99.png|alt=Miku's Website Showcasing their Baby Monitor and $9.99 "Care+" Subscription Service|thumb|[https://mikucare.com/ Miku's Website] Showcasing their Baby Monitor and $9.99 "Care+" Subscription Service]]


=====Additional Controversy Details & Main Article:=====
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Main Article:
!Controversy
![[Miku Charges Subscription for Previously Free Features|'''Miku Charges Subscription for Previously Free Features''']]
!Year
|-
!Background Info
|Year:
!Aftermath
|<u>10/01/2023</u>
!Related Article
|-
!Related Video(s)
|Aftermath:
|<u>Ongoing</u>
|-
|-
|Miku Charges subscription for features that were previously free
|Related articles:
|10/01/2023
|'''[https://old.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/16zkzj9/my_400_baby_monitor_has_locked_previously_free/ My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=4 Oct 2023 |title=My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/16zkzj9/my_400_baby_monitor_has_locked_previously_free/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Old Reddit}}</ref>'''
|After being Acquired by Innovative Health Monitoring, a subscription service was added to Miku on October 1, 2023 to allow users who had already purchased their Miku Smart Baby Monitoring device to continue using previously free features through the Miku app such as Live Breathing,Sleep Tracking, and push notifications when your baby wakes up. Miku users who had already purchased Miku Care+ were not affected by this new subscription.
|Ongoing
|[https://old.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/16zkzj9/my_400_baby_monitor_has_locked_previously_free/ My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription]<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 Oct 2023 |title=My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/16zkzj9/my_400_baby_monitor_has_locked_previously_free/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Old Reddit}}</ref>
[https://assets.mikucloud.com/Innovative_Health_Monitoring-Letter_to_Customers.pdf The document referenced in the reddit post (IHM Acquisition PDF)]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Letter to Customers |url=https://assets.mikucloud.com/Innovative_Health_Monitoring-Letter_to_Customers.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010081331/https://assets.mikucloud.com/Innovative_Health_Monitoring-Letter_to_Customers.pdf |archive-date=10 Oct 2023 |access-date=4 Apr 2025}}</ref>
 
|[https://youtube.com/watch?v=nigJMu0lUbM they made a $400 baby monitor a subscription...]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=5 Oct 2023 |title=they made a $400 baby monitor a subscription... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nigJMu0lUbM |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
|Related videos:
|[https://youtube.com/watch?v=nigJMu0lUbM '''they made a $400 baby monitor a subscription...''']'''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=5 Oct 2023 |title=they made a $400 baby monitor a subscription... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nigJMu0lUbM |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>'''
|}
|}


==Miku Charges Subscription for Previously Free Features:==
=====Summarized description:=====
[[File:Miku email to customers.png|alt=Miku Email to Customers on September 15, 2023|thumb|Miku Email to Customers on September 15, 2023]]
All Miku users received an email on September 15'th 2023 detailing changes to the access Miku customers would have to features on their Miku devices starting October 1'st 2023. According to Miku, "For customers who did not previously subscribe to Care+, many of the features you have been receiving for free will now require a monthly subscription fee. " <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=And_You_Like_It_Too |date=Dec 16, 2023 |title=How much licensed content does Netflix display in premium formats (4K, HDR/Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos) in the 4K tier? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/18k554z/how_much_licensed_content_does_netflix_display_in/ |access-date=May 18, 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> Despite many users purchasing their Miku device before these changes were instituted and had no prior knowledge that these changes would be put in place upon purchasing their Miku device, if they did not pay the new ''"care+"'' subscription fee, access to services on their Miku device would be revoked.
Through the acquisition of Miku Inc by Innovative Health Monitoring LLC, Miku sent out an email notice to all of their users on September 15'th 2023 detailing changes to the access Miku customers have to features on their Miku device starting October 1'st 2023. According to Miku, "For customers who did not previously subscribe to Care+, many of the features you have been receiving for free will now require a monthly subscription fee. " <ref name=":1" />  


===Changes Made:===
==Miku Terms of Service and arbitration clause==
According to the Miku email to customers, the new breakdown of feature changes is as follows:
[[File:Miku TOS snippet.png|alt=A Snippet of Miku's Terms of Service page Captured Aug 16, 2025.|thumb|A Snippet of [https://mikucare.com/pages/terms-of-service Miku's Terms of Service page] Captured Aug 16, 2025.]]


*Updated Free features:
=====Additional details & main article:=====
**Live HD video and audio streaming (available locally only unless the customer's smartphone or tablet is operating on the same wireless network as the monitoring device.
{| class="wikitable"
[[File:Miku site 999permonth.png|alt=Miku website describing new features for $9.99/Mo|thumb|Miku website describing new features for $9.99/Mo]]
!Main Article:
 
!'''[[Miku Terms of Service and Arbitration]]'''
*Updated Subscription Membership features At '''<u>$9.99</u>''' per month:
|-
**Live HD video and audio (local and remote access);
|Effective Date:
**two-way talk;
|9/22/2023
**live breathing waveform;
|-
**sleep and health analytics;
|Last Updated On:
**environmental analytics;
|6/12/2024
**various notifications and alerts;
|}
**sounds and lullabies;
**three days of video storage;
**Care+ access;
**wellness trends.;
**tips from medical and sleep experts; and
**wellness tracking tools (height, weight, feeding, body temp, diaper changes)
 
*Offer access to higher tier memberships that include longer term video storage at the following levels:
**Monthly Membership + 30 days of video storage ($14.99 per month);
**Monthly Membership + 1 Year of video storage ($19.99 per month); and
**Monthly Membership + Unlimited video storage ($29.99 per month)
 
===Customer Response:===
Many customers were displeased with the subscription service added to Miku. Leading to products being returned and customers emailing Innovative Health Monitoring to voice their opinions with the company.
 
Due to these subscription changes being instituted through automatic updates to the Miku mobile application, turning off automatic updates and refusing to update the Miku app would keep the features that were now locked behind a subscription.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miku bought out and now charging a subscription for basic features. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/comments/16jr4vy/miku_bought_out_and_now_charging_a_subscription/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref>


===Broader Implications:===
=====Summarized description:=====
The changes that Innovative Health Monitoring has made to the Miku care+ subscription model regarding the accessibility of its previously-offered services to customers sets a precedent for how Innovative Health Monitoring can remove or completely lock services away from customers in the future for all products and services they provide. According to the Miku Terms of service, "We reserve the right to change the Terms at any time, but if we do, we will do our best to bring it to your attention by placing a notice on the Miku website, by sending you an email, and/or by some other means."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=6/12/2024 |title=Miku Care terms of service |url=https://mikucare.com/pages/terms-of-service |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250722045420/https://mikucare.com/pages/terms-of-service |archive-date=2025-07-15 |access-date=2025-08-15 |website=Miku Care}}</ref> and "If you use the Services in any way after a change to the Terms are effective, you agree to the changes to the Terms."<ref name=":2" />
This article presents a summarized version of the Miku Terms of Service and Arbitration clause within it. Within the article, important Terms of Service information is provided to help others gain a better understanding of their agreement between themselves and Miku, and the rights and freedoms the have upon agreement to Miku's Terms of Service.


==References==
==References:==
<references />
<references />
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Latest revision as of 08:43, 17 August 2025

Miku
Basic information
Founded 2018
Legal structure Private, For Profit
Industry Smart Baby Monitors
Official website https://mikucare.com

Miku is a private for-profit company that was founded in 2018 by Eric White.[1] Miku sells smart baby monitors with features such as night vision, sensors for temperature, humidity and ambient light, a 1080p camera, 7-day video storage, and audio/video recording capabilities.[2] Both the Miku Smart Baby Monitor (standard model) and Miku Pro come with a 12-month manufacturer warranty from the date of purchase.[2][3]



Consumer-impact summary[edit | edit source]

  • User freedom: Miku has a history of taking previously free cloud features and putting them behind a paywall, Miku Charges Subscription for Previously Free Features
  • User privacy: Miku can share data of you and your child with third parties and retain it after closing your Miku account.
  • Business model: Private, for-profit. Sells smart baby monitor products and services related to them.

Incidents[edit | edit source]

Miku charges subscription for previously free features (2023)[edit | edit source]

Miku's Website Showcasing their Baby Monitor and $9.99 "Care+" Subscription Service
Miku's Website Showcasing their Baby Monitor and $9.99 "Care+" Subscription Service
Additional Controversy Details & Main Article:[edit | edit source]
Main Article: Miku Charges Subscription for Previously Free Features
Year: 10/01/2023
Aftermath: Ongoing
Related articles: My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription[4]
Related videos: they made a $400 baby monitor a subscription...[5]
Summarized description:[edit | edit source]

All Miku users received an email on September 15'th 2023 detailing changes to the access Miku customers would have to features on their Miku devices starting October 1'st 2023. According to Miku, "For customers who did not previously subscribe to Care+, many of the features you have been receiving for free will now require a monthly subscription fee. " [6] Despite many users purchasing their Miku device before these changes were instituted and had no prior knowledge that these changes would be put in place upon purchasing their Miku device, if they did not pay the new "care+" subscription fee, access to services on their Miku device would be revoked.

Miku Terms of Service and arbitration clause[edit | edit source]

A Snippet of Miku's Terms of Service page Captured Aug 16, 2025.
A Snippet of Miku's Terms of Service page Captured Aug 16, 2025.
Additional details & main article:[edit | edit source]
Main Article: Miku Terms of Service and Arbitration
Effective Date: 9/22/2023
Last Updated On: 6/12/2024
Summarized description:[edit | edit source]

This article presents a summarized version of the Miku Terms of Service and Arbitration clause within it. Within the article, important Terms of Service information is provided to help others gain a better understanding of their agreement between themselves and Miku, and the rights and freedoms the have upon agreement to Miku's Terms of Service.

References:[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Our Founder Shares Why He Built the Miku Smart Baby Monitor". Miku. 4 Oct 2019. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Specs". Miku. Retrieved 3 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ↑ "Miku Inc. Limited Warranty". Miku. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ "My $400 baby monitor has locked previously free features behind a monthly subscription". Old Reddit. 4 Oct 2023. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Rossmann, Louis (5 Oct 2023). "they made a $400 baby monitor a subscription..." YouTube. Retrieved 4 Apr 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ And_You_Like_It_Too (Dec 16, 2023). "How much licensed content does Netflix display in premium formats (4K, HDR/Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos) in the 4K tier?". Reddit. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
Retrieved from "https://consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Miku&oldid=20347"