Planet Fitness member walks into the bathroom and sees a screen attached to the sink. ‘Why TF do I need an iPad to wash my hands?’

Using a public bathroom rarely leads to a positive story being told on TikTok, like in the case of one woman’s traumatic Target bathroom ordeal. Now, there’s a new feature that’s been added to at least one Planet Fitness bathroom, as Kay shows in a video posted to TikTok (@recklessgoodness).

Kay’s video is only eight seconds long, with the caption “Planet Fitness, what are you doing?” as she records a tablet installed on the sink faucet. BroBible, when covering this story, found that these tablets are called VODXS. According to the product’s website, “VODXS transforms commercial washrooms into intelligent media spaces, combining touchless water efficiency with an unforgettable digital display.”

If you want the short version, VODXS is a faucet with a tablet on it that’s meant to play ads while people wash their hands.

Ads are becoming difficult to avoid

The addition of screens in bathrooms that are meant to play ads resulted in hundreds of comments being posted on Kay’s video. Some are humorous, but even among those comments, there’s a reminder about how prominent ads, subscriptions, and tip requests have become in everyday life. One comment posts an image of a tip screen, which is often an entire conversation on its own with stories like this woman having a tip added to her bill for her, and another one asks about cameras on them.

Regarding the concern about cameras, it at least seems like VODXS doesn’t come with one. However, the website doesn’t state if there are cameras on them, so this is based on examining the images as closely as the site allows to check.

Commenters aren’t thrilled about VODXS

As commenters on Kay’s video learned the purpose of the screens, helped by others who discovered what they are and shared that they play ads, the opinions about them didn’t improve.

One person wrote, “Okay. This is genuinely gone way too far.” Below that, another person wonders if the screens are constantly recording audio.

Then, there’s a comment that sums up the frustration of the overall situation by saying, “Ads are everywhere now. I’m tired. Leave us alone!”

Looking at another of Kay’s videos, she seems to be located in or around Denver. It’s common for new technology and features to be implemented in larger locations, such as Denver, and then be brought to more locations as part of a rollout if the initial implementations go well. Because Planet Fitness is a brand that operates across the United States, Kay may not be the last to find that screens have been added to her location’s bathrooms.

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