---
title: "In the Future, Even Your Dish Detergent Will be Spying on You"
description: "## Bust a Cap"
date: "2018-10-19"
modified: "2018-10-19"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/smart-caps-waterio"
categories:
  - "Computing"
  - "Internet Of Things"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "internet of things"
  - "kobi bentkovski"
  - "smart cap"
  - "the digest"
  - "water.io"
---

# In the Future, Even Your Dish Detergent Will be Spying on You

![Water.io is working on "smart caps" that tell you whether you're hydrating enough or taking all your pills, and even put in orders when you're running low.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/future-dish-detergent-nag-you1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/p-532409/?no\_redirect" target="\_blank"\>Miziantika/Victor Tangermann\</a\>\</em\>*

## Bust a Cap

It's the future. You're running low on dish detergent, so the container starts bugging you to buy more. Maybe it even cuts you out of the process by ordering more soap online on its own.

That's the idea behind [Water.io](<https://www.water-io.com>), a hardware company that's working on a range of "smart caps" that keep track of how much stuff is left in a container.

## Track Race

Water.io envisions a cap for water bottles, another for pill bottles, and another for detergents. The caps will tell you if you're hydrating enough, track whether you're taking all your pills — and, yes, put in orders when you're running low on soap.

It's a neat idea. But in the end, it's just one more way for retailers to collect data about your shopping and consumption habits. Just remember that, like online ads, these smart caps could eventually become annoying — [or even invasive](<https://www.wired.com/story/online-ad-targeting-does-work-as-long-as-its-not-creepy/>).

## Brand More

Water.io CEO Kobi Bentkovski spelled out the vision in a [new interview](<https://www.fastcompany.com/90253468/water-io-is-building-a-platform-that-presages-the-future-of-consumer-products>) with *Fast Company.*

"We are enabling the brands of consumer packaged goods to get data from their products," he said. "The moment they know who their customers are, how customers are using a product, and when the product is going to run out is the moment they can compete with Amazon and the private brands of the retailers."

That sounds great for brands. But here at The Byte, we'll just keeping buying detergent when *we* see that we're running low.

**READ MORE:** [Get Ready for a Future in Which Your Favorite Products Act Like Helicopter Parents](<https://www.fastcompany.com/90253468/water-io-is-building-a-platform-that-presages-the-future-of-consumer-products>) \[*Fast Company*\]

***More on online shopping: [Voice Ordering Is The “Most Disruptive” Shopping Trend](<https://futurism.com/amazon-alexa-voice-ordering-disruptive>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)