What Kinds of Health Data Can Smart Toilets Collect

In recent years, the bathroom has quietly become a space of innovation. With the emergence of the smart toilet, a traditionally unremarkable fixture is being reimagined as a tool for real-time health monitoring. By embedding sensors, cameras, and diagnostic tools within the toilet itself, these systems are capable of capturing data points once restricted to clinical settings. But with such data collection comes a complex debate around privacy, consent, and necessity.

What Health Data Can a Smart Toilet Monitor?

Smart toilets vary in complexity, but many share core capabilities designed to monitor various aspects of human health via urine, faeces, and in some cases, biometric indicators.

1. Urinalysis and Hydration Metrics

Smart toilets equipped with chemical sensors can analyse the composition of urine. This includes levels of glucose, protein, ketones, pH, and signs of dehydration. For individuals with diabetes, this technology could help track glucose levels in a non-invasive manner. Similarly, athletes or elderly individuals may benefit from regular hydration checks without the need for external testing.

2. Faecal Analysis

More advanced models can analyse the shape, consistency, and content of stool, potentially identifying early warning signs of gastrointestinal disorders, infections, or nutritional deficiencies. For those managing chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or Crohn’s disease, this type of monitoring can assist in identifying patterns or triggers.

3. Blood Detection

Smart toilets are also being developed to detect microscopic traces of blood in urine or faeces—symptoms that may indicate internal bleeding, haemorrhoids, or even colorectal cancer. Early detection in these cases can be life-saving, particularly for individuals who may otherwise avoid regular health screenings.

4. Microbiome Monitoring

Emerging research suggests smart toilets may be able to collect samples for microbiome analysis. The gut microbiome plays a significant role in digestion, immune response, and even mental health. Regular updates on changes to an individual’s microbiome could one day inform personalised dietary or treatment plans.

5. Biometric Identification

Some smart toilets feature fingerprint readers or even pressure-sensitive seats to match health data to the correct individual in a household. Others have been trialled with more unusual identification methods—such as anus recognition via pressure or shape mapping—raising eyebrows for both their novelty and ethical implications.

A Question of Benefit vs Intrusion

While the technical capabilities of smart toilets are expanding rapidly, the public conversation around them is still catching up. The benefits for healthcare—particularly preventive care—are clear. Being able to detect anomalies before they become serious health issues could lessen the burden on public health systems and improve outcomes for individuals.

However, these benefits must be weighed against valid concerns. Chief among them is data privacy. Health data is highly sensitive, and there are questions around who owns the data collected by smart toilets, how securely it is stored, and whether it could be shared with third parties such as insurance companies or employers.

Consent is another grey area. In a household with multiple users, does every user have the ability to opt in or out of data collection? What happens when guests use the toilet? These questions have yet to be comprehensively addressed by manufacturers or regulators.

The Path Ahead

For now, smart toilets remain a niche product—used mainly in tech-forward homes or research settings. But their potential is undeniable. With ageing populations and growing interest in personalised medicine, tools that passively collect health data will become increasingly attractive. At the same time, the integration of such technology into private, everyday settings demands rigorous scrutiny and transparent governance.

To move forward responsibly, developers will need to prioritise data protection by design, offer clear user controls, and work closely with healthcare professionals and policymakers. Until then, consumers should carefully assess whether the health insights offered by a smart toilet are worth the data they must give up in return.

Ultimately, the issue is not whether smart toilets are inherently helpful or creepy. The answer lies in how the technology is implemented—and more importantly, who gets to control it.