Kohler launches smart toilet camera
64 comments
·October 20, 2025teeray
> a $599 camera that can be attached to your toilet bowl and take pictures of what’s inside.
This is really the dream of the Cloud to Butt Chrome extension.
mikestew
Does it have an alcohol mister pointed at that fingerprint sensor? That's probably the last place in my house I'd encourage people to be rubbing their fingers.
gruez
Given that most people don't have an alcohol mister pointed at the flush button, and that gets touched just as often as the fingerprint sensor, I think the lack of an alcohol mister is fine.
mikestew
I was thinking about the proximity to the bowl. The flush handle/button usually isn’t single digit inches from where poop splashes around.
xnx
Probably a good idea for toilet user to wash their hands.
pixelatedindex
Sometimes we really oughta ask ourselves if we should do something just because we can.
horsawlarway
See - I actually think this is a pretty interesting idea. Stool/Urine are fairly solid indicators of personal health in a lot of ways.
But I think this is a product that probably shouldn't be allowed to exist as a standard SaaS/IoT product.
If this was a box I could hook up on my toilet that showed useful info on a screen locally - with zero network access... I'd consider buying.
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People are really glib about the loss of control relying on someone else's computer brings.
between service enshittification, company death (out of business), privacy concerns, and ownership contention (do I own a device if a company keeps keys to the locks inside it and won't give them to me? I'd argue a solid and resounding "NO")... I don't want anything to do with most modern networked devices in the form of IoT.
pixelatedindex
Oh I certainly believe there is merit to the idea. But the execution is… a bit concerning
brewdad
Sure. Load the data locally onto an SD card that I can use to share the data with my doctor. Sending the data off to some remote third party via a questionable internet connection is a no-go for me.
allears
I'd say this was pretty literally enshittification...
4d4m
Someone saw Smart Pipe and thought it was real?
ToniCipriani
Came here looking for the Smartpipe reference, left satisfied.
jvilalta
Can't wait for the day I need a subscription to flush my toilet.
maxerickson
I buy my flush water from the city by volume.
rkomorn
We're almost there, right? Wasn't there a recent story about needing to watch ads in order to get toilet paper somewhere?
mmooss
Is it too much to say that I've thought that we could easily collect valuable health information by collecting data on digestion output. It mostly happens in just a few locations (unlike input), so it's perhaps worthwhile to invest in data collection.
I expect weight to be valuable, simple to collect, precise, and quantified (thus simple to analyze). Assuming excrement and urine have consistent masses, you would have good data on half of the food input/output equation, which could tell you about hydration and nutrition, the efficiency of fluid and solid digestion, etc. (Input is more difficult to measure.)
Density might also help; a sensor in the output pipe below might measure it after a consistent water pressure is applied.
For the OP, I wonder how sophisticated these instruments are. For example, using the empty bowl as baseline, you might automatically collect and quantify color data.
stronglikedan
Ideal output: half-pound no-wipe solid floater
maxerickson
The hydration of stool varies considerably.
Probably tough to do much with just information about the outputs.
eska
we’ve also written about the toilet camera offered by a startup called Throne
Marketing department working overtime with that name
xnx
Pair this with a U-Scan Nutrio (https://www.withings.com/us/en/u-scan-nutrio) for "Number 1" and you're all set.
Could probably also develop a toilet seat that weighs you and measures body composition.
cactusplant7374
The measurement bodily stool and fluids is out of control. It borders on a disorder.
Larrikin
The Withings solution doesn't require a camera and seems like the better solution. It's still expensive and basically a subscription.
daft_pink
Does everyone in the house need their own toilet for this to work or would a couple need two separate cameras attached to the same bowl? What happens if a guest uses your toilet?
I’m excited about this product, but curious about the practical logistic of using it and it’s not clear to me how it works from the product page.
slumberlust
Aren't sphincters unique like fingerprints? There's already a camera, make it happen Kohler.
pekim
> and a fingerprint sensor to identify who’s using the toilet
So it sounds like you would only need one camera for multiple people using the same toilet.
1-6
Privacy issues aside, I think having a camera to monitor stools and urine color is an excellent way to gauge health. I hope the folks at Kohler can make this happen.
dfxm12
There are some privacy issues you can't set aside.
The status quo is that I have enough skin in the game when it comes to my health, that if something doesn't feel or look normal (and I didn't just eat a lot of beets), I go to the doctor. It would save me an annual subscription cost, too, and it's a big upfront cost for when Kohler no longer wants to support it (a lot of people have Nest thermostats that are losing all of their useful functionality in a few days).
If this helps people with specific conditions, that's great, but, I'm having a hard time picturing someone who is so out of touch with their body that they will pay for this and follow its recommendations.
hopelite
I have something called eyes and they come preinstalled and included with my system. I carry them with me everywhere. They are multifunctional for many other applications too. They do not have a subscription model either. They even come with a built in, extremely efficient power plant that produces energy for them endlessly for around 80-something years by simple input of quality biomatter.
fragmede
These "eyes". Do they save data to a database? Is that database query able by say, your doctor with actual usefulness? What got logged on March 12th at 2:43 AM, 2003? Can you show it to someone else for them to analyze, or do they have to rely on your expert opinion?
hopelite
Is your data corrupted? Yes, the data is saved to a database. Yes, that database is queryable by me, an even more efficient path than a third party querying something as ridiculous as a database of stool pictures? At least you could have used a contemporary "AI analyzed" trope.
But besides the point, are you like some vested interest in poop-cam? Or why all the intense defense of this ridiculous idea? Is it your baby I am pointing flaws out in through some satire?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJklHwoYgBQ