Is your partner cheating? This ‘smart ring’ tracks every move, voice, temperature and sends you real-time alerts

Dump the diamond as a sign of commitment—technology is leading the way in a new way for couples to remain emotionally on the same page, and it might redefine relationship responsibility. A clever bit of hardware called The Ring, developed by dating app Raw in partnership with Queens Tech, might soon be the actual symbol of a committed relationship. This tech jewelry offers a new way for lovers to be aware of what the other feels, and there are issues with privacy, trust, and intimacy, too.

The Ring is a high-tech, advanced wearable that can help couples to emotionally connect by keeping an eye on each other's moods throughout the day. Meant to be worn in pairs, it combines with your partner's device so both halves of a relationship can view each other's emotional state in real time. Using LED lights, The Ring will glow in different colors depending on the wearer's mood. It's essentially a modern, digital version of the mood ring, only instead of indicating your own mood, it connects you up with your partner's.
This new device makes use of microphones and biosensors to record data such as body movement, skin temperature, and heart rate. Operating alongside artificial intelligence, it then goes on to interpret the data to see if there is a shift in your emotional state.

The technology incorporated into The Ring is what sets it apart from other wearable tech. Using a combination of sensors, The Ring can detect a variety of physiological shifts that indicate emotional response. Here's how it does it:

Using this data, The Ring is able to gauge whether you’re feeling relaxed, stressed, anxious, or even aroused. The creators claim that The Ring can also distinguish between emotional arousal and physical activities, such as exercise, ensuring it accurately interprets the wearer’s emotional state.

The Ring's most powerful feature is its ability to unite partners on a depth greater than the emotional. Using instant emotion tracking, the ring is meant to allow partners to comprehend one another. If your partner is under pressure, say, The Ring will alert you with a color change such that you are able to respond to their emotional needs without them having to utter a word.
The most intriguing, and controversial, aspect of The Ring is its ability to monitor sexual arousal. If the emotional reaction of your lover is altered in such a way that it suggests sexual arousal, the ring will create a distinct magenta hue. This "couples' sense" of knowing one another's feelings is supposed to bridge gaps and circumstances and to bring an entire new order of contact—a contact at times too intrusive.

While The Ring offers an exciting new means of emotional engagement, it also raises severe privacy concerns. With its ability to capture voice patterns and gather biometric data, concerns over surveillance and consent arise. Developers claim that the device merely captures emotional markers, not full conversations, and that all data is encrypted to maintain users' privacy. However, the idea of constantly monitoring one another’s emotional state can feel intrusive, particularly if it begins to uncover secrets or infidelity.
The device's promise of providing “evidence” of emotional infidelity—such as unanticipated arousal—can be seen as a double-edged sword. While it could help couples navigate misunderstandings, it could also create an environment of distrust. The idea that you’ll “know when something’s up” could lead to over-monitoring and unnecessary conflict.

The Ring's marketers position it as a game-changer for emotional connection, but its future is decidedly uncertain. According to the New York Post, The Ring is still in development and won't hit the marketplace until late 2025 or early 2026. Although pricing details are shrouded in secrecy, the product has already generated a lot of buzz. For those looking for more emotional intimacy, The Ring could be a valuable tool of intimacy, but also raises the question of how much emotional vulnerability is healthy in a relationship.