Nutrition
Nutrition

“Smart Toilets” Are Back: The Microbiome-Tracking Wellness Trend You Didn’t See Coming

Beatriz Ribeiro
01/27/2026 2 min read
Nutrition

Wellness tech has officially entered a new era, and it is taking place in the most unexpected room of the house. Smart toilets, once a futuristic concept, are now making a comeback with far more advanced capabilities. These new prototypes are designed to analyse gut biomarkers, hydration levels and inflammation markers simply by scanning what you flush.

It sounds unusual, a little strange and undeniably futuristic, but this innovation is gaining serious traction in longevity and preventative-health circles. As interest in personalised wellness grows, smart toilets could soon become one of the most powerful at-home diagnostic tools.

Let’s explore what this trend is all about, why experts are paying attention and what the future of bathroom-based health tracking might look like.


How Smart Toilets Work

While each design varies, most smart toilet prototypes include:

  • Sensors that analyse urine and stool

  • Cameras or imaging technology to capture data

  • Built-in software to interpret hydration, inflammation and microbiome indicators

  • Data syncing to health apps or digital dashboards

The goal is to give people real-time insights into their internal health through daily, effortless analysis.


Why This Technology Is Gaining Traction

This trend reflects a larger movement in wellness, the shift towards continuous, passive health monitoring. Rather than waiting for annual check-ups or blood tests, people want frequent, personalised updates on how their body is functioning.

Smart toilets fit into that vision seamlessly.

Future forecast:

🤖 Toilets may soon become at-home diagnostic tools
Health experts imagine a future where toilets detect early signs of illness long before symptoms appear.

🦠 Microbiome data could personalise nutrition and supplements
By analysing gut bacteria patterns, smart toilets could eventually recommend targeted dietary changes or supplement support.

💧 Hydration tracking built into everyday bathroom habits
Real-time hydration data could help people optimise energy, focus and daily wellbeing without manual tracking.


What Are the Benefits?

Smart toilets have the potential to:

  • Support early detection of gut and metabolic conditions

  • Help monitor chronic health issues

  • Provide insights into digestion and nutrient absorption

  • Promote daily behavioural improvements (hydration, fibre intake, stress levels)

The most appealing part is that all the data is collected from something you already do every day.


The Privacy and Practicality Debate

As with any health-tracking technology, concerns around data privacy, storage and security are already part of the conversation. Who owns the data? How is it stored? Who gets access?

There are also questions around cost and accessibility. Smart toilets are still prototypes and not yet available for the average home. But as technology advances, prices often fall quickly, meaning this could become mainstream sooner than expected.


Could This Become the Future of Personalised Health?

If smart toilets meet privacy standards and become widely accessible, they could:

  • Transform how we manage gut health

  • Detect imbalances earlier

  • Help personalise supplement routines

  • Give people more control over their wellbeing

It might sound like science fiction, but so did step trackers, sleep monitors and continuous glucose sensors once upon a time.

The bathroom could soon be one of the most powerful rooms in your wellness routine.


References

Stanford Medicine (2020). Smart toilets of the future may spot disease. Available at: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/04/smart-toilet.html

Nature Biomedical Engineering (2020). A smart toilet for automatic urinary and faecal analysis. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-020-0533-3

Healthline (2025). How new bathroom technology is changing home health tracking. Available at: https://www.healthline.com

BBC Future (2024). The future of bathrooms: from smart toilets to microbiome monitoring. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future