
Smartphone in the shower: Chinese college wants students to scan QR codes before washing
Social media jokes that the next step for technology is the toilet
China loves QR codes. China loves mobile technology. But do Chinese students love mobile technology enough to scan a QR code every time they want to take a shower?
It’s supposed to allow the university to know how much to charge students for water. And they say it means students don’t have to juggle too many access cards. (But it also probably means they should have a waterproof phone.)
But the system was blasted by local media and Weibo users. Many on social media pointed out that their schools make students download too many different apps already, for classes, for food, and now even for showers.
“Why don’t they put one on the toilet as well?” one Weibo user says.

The new shower system is allowing people online to take a jab at one common problem among Chinese app makers: Gathering too much information.
High school uses facial recognition cameras to see if students are dozing off
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For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.
