A woman bought an Oura ring, only to regret the decision once she had it in her hand. The reason why? The battery died after only six hours, and despite requesting a refund or return for the bug, the company refused to comply.
In what is essentially an “Oura Ring scam,” Riley (@rileyssside) posted a TikTok video describing the issues she’s had with her Oura ring’s charging capability. In her video’s description, she complained about customer service not accommodating a refund for the Oura ring, which is not charging correctly. Based on her post, Oura Health has not helped her resolve the issue.
Now, the video has garnered 4.3 million views since posting, with many people adding their own thoughts. So, to Oura or not to Oura? That’s the question.
Does the Oura Ring actually track accurate data?
According to many viewers, online blogs, and forums, the Oura ring has the capability of tracking real data. It can accurately read “50+ health and wellness metrics,” with specific day and night recommendations for its users.
In a previous article published by The Mary Sue, one Oura Ring user was even able to detect a life-threatening illness days before she felt symptoms. The ring was able to detect that she was sick, giving her advance notice of sepsis.
Some of these settings, however, are locked behind an Oura ring membership. Oura Rings cost 5.99 per month with the subscription, with the usefulness dropping without the added cost. Without it, the device will only register a few metrics, with significantly more basic profile information.
Why are people throwing away their Oura Rings?
Oura rings aren’t necessarily being thrown away just because they have bad reviews. In September 2025, a slew of TikTokers said goodbye to the small wellness trackers due to a government contract that Oura Ring’s parent company, Oura Health, took with Palantir Technologies. Many who realized that Oura Ring started a contract with Palantir claimed that Oura rings would start tracking data for the company, leading to widespread speculation and bona fide cancellation for the rings.
However, Tom Hale, Oura Health’s CEO, denied these claims on social media. Later articles debunked the theory that Oura Rings would directly track information for Palantir Technologies.
The company stated, “The DoD environment is completely separate from the Oura platform our members use. To meet strict government security requirements, some DoD programs require that our enterprise solution runs on an Impact Level 5-certified, or IL-5, secure environment. Palantir’s FedStart provides that infrastructure today, but they—and the government—do not have access to your Oura health data. Your personal data never touches any government system, and nobody from Palantir or the government has access to your data.”
Still, the fact that Oura rings even had a relationship with Palantir Technologies, which specializes in data integration and analytics for government agencies, seems concerning for some previous Oura ring fans. It’s been a major reason why many people have switched to alternatives like Ringconn, another available smart ring on the market.
@rileyssside Number one worst purchase I have ever made in my life. Don’t buy an Oura ring unless you want the battery to only last for 6 hours before it dies and then for customer service to refuse a replacement! @ouraring ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger
The Mary Sue reached out to Oura Health via email and Riley via TikTok direct message for comment.
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