It works like this: the person walks up to the machine and has their face scanned, and then the dispenser gives them about 27 inches of toilet paper, NTDTV reported. To get another round of paper, users have to wait nine minutes and have another facial scan.
The dispenser can reportedly tell if it is a new person using it or a returning user.
Already, the restroom now only goes through four rolls of toilet paper per day. That's 10 fewer rolls than prior to the installation of the technological watchdog.
Using the bathroom and the paper is totally free, in contrast with many American cities where there are few public restrooms and most are marked "customers only" or charge a fee.
The facial recognition technology in toilet paper dispensers made its debut in Beijing in March after local media reports shined a light on thieves who would steal as much toilet paper as they could carry from public restrooms at the Temple of Heaven complex.