When my dog sniffs at certain spots on our morning walk, my daughter calls it “checking her pee-mails.” Yes, the animal kingdom has it right: Urine conveys a wealth of health information, and by analyzing it, you can access critical data about your body without having to wear a fitness tracker 24/7 or get stuck with needles.
Over the past few months, I’ve been inundated by a steady stream of urine trackers, of which Vivoo’s smart toilet is the latest. The smart sensor debuted at CES 2026 and went on sale this week. It costs a relatively affordable $99 and clips inside the basin of any toilet.
When you’re ready to do your business, connect the sensor to its companion mobile app using Bluetooth. The sensor collects a sample for testing and uses optical sensors that measure your pee’s specific gravity. An onboard processing unit then uses proprietary algorithms to let you know if you’re hydrated or not. Most importantly, the gadget uses antibacterial components, has antifungal nanotechnology, is designed for more than 1,000 uses, and is fully no-touch.
A Raft of Options
I’ve been spending more time with my toilet lately than I have since I potty trained my kids. I recently tested the Withings U-Scan, which at $380 is a much pricier and more premium-looking urine analysis device. There are two versions: The Nutrio checks for ketone levels, hydration status, and urine acidity (basically, for diabetes), and the Calci checks for calcium content in your urine, which is an early indicator that you may have kidney stones.
Like the smart toilet, the U-Scan opens and uses a cartridge to take samples of the pee. That means it’s not totally waterproof, and you do have to aim when you go, which necessitated some fun and necessary conversations about placement with my husband. Also, you have to take it out of the toilet to clean and charge it when you change the cartridge, which is every month or so. Helpfully, the cartridge replacements come with a pair of rubber gloves.
Still, that’s a much better and safer process than what happens with the Kohler Dekoda, which was also announced last year. It’s basically a toilet bowl camera; it takes pictures of whatever you deposit in your toilet and uses AI to analyze it and give you recommendations on your gut health. Only, it turned out that the end-to-end encrypted camera was not actually end-to-end encrypted. Also, it costs $599.
Float Your Boat
A little over a decade ago, the idea someone might want to track what is happening in their toilet was so universally gross that Adult Swim parodied the concept. But now, we’re not only tracking our steps and heartbeats but also testing our blood and our spit. The idea of keeping tabs on what’s going into our toilets just doesn’t seem that weird anymore.
“Urine color is a subjective visual cue that can vary significantly based on lighting conditions, diet, supplements, and environmental factors,” Vivoo cofounder Miray Tayfun said when I asked her why I just wouldn’t use my two hydration sensors that are in my head (i.e., my eyes). “Because of this variability, color alone may not consistently reflect hydration-related changes.”
Urine tests are also a part of a routine health checkup, especially if you’re pregnant, older, or prediabetic. Like direct-access blood testing, commercially available urine tests may help some people bridge the gaps in our health care system, and Tayfun noted that Vivoo will probably expand the platform. (The company already has an affordable pee strip test.)
Setting all that aside, if you aren’t already checking on a preexisting health condition, you probably don’t need to spend that much time on the toilet. But at the very least, as gross as it may be to sterilize a U-Scan, it’s less scary than having to prick needles under my skin to learn about what might be brewing inside me. Pee is easier. And it’s free, and everywhere! Just ask my dog.
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