This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Companies might not be testing their technology on darker skin complexions
However, at this point, who doesn’t experience a sink that doesn’t respond immediately?
But it still might be a more common theme for people with darker skin tones – as we will witness in the evidence below!
Light Skin V. Dark Skin
A friend of mine was in the bathroom with one of her friends who is a lighter skin complexion (aka yellow bone).
My friend is more of a medium chocolate tone.
When they visited a public restroom, her friend’s hands were easily recognizable by the sink, but when she went to wash her hands, the sink struggled to respond. In fact, the sink didn’t respond at all.
Oh.
I had never heard of this phenomenon with a two-person comparison until recently, but maybe this is also why I also experience trouble with hand sensors since I’m not light-skinned (compared to other family members and white people).
This Nigerian Guy Had The Same Issue
“On Wednesday, a Facebook employee in Nigeria shared footage of a minor inconvenience that he says speaks to tech’s larger diversity problem. In the video, a white man and a dark-skinned black man both try to get soap from a soap dispenser. The soap dispenses for the white man, but not the darker skinned man. After a bit of laughter, a person can be overheard chucking, “too black!”
Source: Gizmodo
The Nigerian man had an entirely different experience. I wonder if he was able to get any soap at all.
He could ask the white man to put his hand under the dispenser and switch out his hands quickly, but that’s whack.
Another situation happened at a hotel. “In a video at a Marriott hotel, an automatic soap dispenser is shown as unable to detect a black customer’s hand (Source: Reporter).”
Racial Bias In Bathroom Technology
Based on the video footage and my friend’s experience, they might have a valid case; companies are not testing their technology on all skin tones or making their technology applicable to all skin tones.
The time and response discrepancy is more than evident in darker skin tones compared to lighter skin tones.
There’s no denying it.
Thankfully people have been blasting their experiences on social media, which will hopefully urge companies to implement changes.
I still have issues with bathroom sinks, dryers, paper towel dispensers, and soap dispensers. So it seems they still have a ways to go because I am definitely putting my hand in the right position.
The color of your skin defines your life experience
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.