This blog is part of a collaboration with Love and Lust, written by SHA Sex Educator student, Tara Michaela Jones.
One of the more interesting parts of working in marketing for a sexual wellness retailer is the demo meetings. Sex toy manufacturers regularly reach out to showcase new innovations, hoping to get their new products listed on your site. An hour on Zoom exploring toys that run the full spectrum, buzzy, rumbly, whisper-quiet. Things you never would have come up with on your own. Beyond breaking up a mundane workday, these meetings serve a real purpose: they keep industry insiders up to date on emerging technologies and the products consumers are increasingly interested in. It's a reminder that the sex toy industry is ever evolving, and the professionals who serve people best are the ones who move with it.
Recently, Love and Lust, the sex toy retailer I work for, sponsored an event for sex therapists. During the event we were able to host a conversation about when sex therapists may struggle to talk about sex toys with their clients. What struck me was how often the issues they raised had a product answer I could think of off the top of my head. When one therapist brought up a client managing pelvic pain, I thought of the toys now specifically designed with adjustable depth and gentler insertable lengths. When another described a male partner who felt threatened by his female partner's toy usage, I immediately thought of the growing world of app-connected couples' toys, designed to be experienced together and even controlled remotely, making toy usage feel more collaborative rather than competitive.
The gap wasn't in the products, it was in the awareness. Sexuality professionals are uniquely positioned to guide clients toward tools that can genuinely support their sexual health, but only if they know what exists. The aforementioned app controlled toys are part of one category worth understanding, digitally enabled sex toys, or "smart toys." A 2024 narrative review on the prevalence, contexts, and benefits of these devices is a useful place to start.
About the Study
Digitally enabled sex toys can also be called “smart sex toys” or “teledildonics”, and are often based on familiar toy formats: sleeves, clitoral stimulators, G-spot toys, even wearables and jewelry. What makes them “smart” is their integration with a companion app or digital device. They're often advertised as tools for long-distance intimacy, but their applications go further than that. These devices can create or enhance sexual experiences, and they can also collect data on users in the process.
A literature review compiled and analyzed 41 academic articles and studies published between 2011 and 2024 about smart sex toys. Consolidating them meant looking for themes: who uses smart sex toys, under what circumstances, and what role they might play in sexual wellbeing.
Who Uses Smart Sex Toys, and How
A 2023 survey found that 9% of respondents had used a smart sex toy at some point. Use was more common among men than women, and among queer people than straight people.
Other research has focused on couples, which makes sense given how these products are typically marketed, largely toward people in monogamous long-distance relationships. But the data tells a more complicated story. In truth, most couples in one study were using these devices together, rather than from long distances. They saw smart sex toys more as a means of enhancing female pleasure, rather than enhancing long distance sex. Where long-distance use does show up more consistently is in digital sex work settings, like on platforms such as Chaturbate, where paying users can remotely control devices used by performers.
That said, there is some evidence that smart toys can benefit long-distance couples. One study examined a phone attachment designed to simulate the sensation of a partner's kiss, finding that this kind of connection increased relationship satisfaction for long distance couples
How Smart Toys Enhance Sexual Wellbeing
Research shows that smart sex toys offer new opportunities for women specifically to explore their bodies and pleasure. In instances where they were physically distant from their partner while smart toys were used, they felt less pressure and self-consciousness. The absence of worrying about how they looked or performed gave them more room to focus on what actually felt good.
A related benefit showed up in research on VR pornography paired with smart device capability, which was found to reduce sexual anxiety. This has potential applications in therapeutic contexts.
Smart sex toys also hold promise for people with limited mobility. Researchers have developed multiple prototypes aimed at broadening access to pleasure for disabled folks, including one controlled through brainwave activity.
Conclusion
Smart sex toys:
Are sex toys that can be integrated with a companion app or digital device.
Can be used from a distance or in the same space.
Are more commonly used by men than women, and by queer people than straight people.
May allow women to feel less self conscious. May allow many people to experience less sexual anxiety.
Have future applications for disabled people.
If you’re looking to check out smart toys in action, explore Love and Lust’s app controlled toys section. Not sure where to start? Our helpful, professional customer service team is always happy to help you find a product that fits your needs. We're also open to partnering with client-facing sexuality professionals who want to bring demo products into their practice.
Want to become an in-demand sexual health professional? Learn more about becoming certified with SHA!
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Tara Michaela Jones is a sex educator and the social media and marketing manager at Love and Lust, an online sex toy retailer. Beyond stocking your favorite sex toy brands, lubes, supplements, and more, Love and Lust aims to serve as a thoughtful, stigma-free resource for sexual health and pleasure. Branching off from an existing company in the hemp space, this family-owned business recognized sexual wellness as another industry rife with taboo, yet full of potential for healing and pleasure.
Before being brought on to Love and Lust, Tara began her work in sex education six years prior as a freelance content creator, journalist, and public speaker. Across her online platforms, where she has built an audience of more than 14,000 people, she focuses on the biological, psychological, interpersonal, and societal factors that shape our sexuality. She was a keynote speaker at the 2026 National Sex Education Conference, and has been featured inBuzzfeed, Marie Claire, and Well+Good amongst other publications.
