\n<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, home goods maker Kohler launched a smart camera called the Dekoda<\/a> that attaches to your toilet bowl, takes pictures of it, and analyzes the images to advise you on your gut health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anticipating privacy fears, Kohler said on its website<\/a> that the Dekoda\u2019s sensors only see down into the toilet, and claimed that all data is secured with \u201cend-to-end encryption.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s use of the expression \u201cend-to-end encryption<\/a>\u201d is, however, wrong, as security researcher Simon Fondrie-Teitler pointed out in a blog post<\/a> on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n By reading Kohler\u2019s privacy policy<\/a>, it\u2019s clear that the company is referring to the type of encryption that secures data as it travels over the internet, known as TLS encryption \u2014 the same that powers HTTPS websites.\u00a0<\/p>\n Using the right terms<\/a> matters, especially in the context of users\u2019 privacy concerns. Using the expression end-to-end encryption \u2014 widely adopted by messaging apps such as iMessage, Signal, and WhatsApp \u2014 to describe TLS encryption is wrong, and can potentially confuse users who see that expression and think Kohler actually cannot see the pictures that the camera takes.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Kohler spokesperson did not respond to questions from TechCrunch, but a company \u201cprivacy contact\u201d told Fondrie-Teitler that user data is \u201cencrypted at rest, when it\u2019s stored on the user\u2019s mobile phone, toilet attachment, and on our systems.\u201d The company also said that, \u201cdata in transit is also encrypted end-to-end, as it travels between the user\u2019s devices and our systems, where it is decrypted and processed to provide our service.\u201d<\/p>\n The security researcher also pointed out that given Kohler can access customers\u2019 data on its servers, it\u2019s possible Kohler is using customers\u2019 bowl pictures to train AI. Citing another response from the company representative, the researcher was told that Kohler\u2019s \u201calgorithms are trained on de-identified data only.\u201d<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> The Dekoda costs<\/a> $599 plus a mandatory subscription of at least $6.99 per month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n