Don't confuse the old style of French Bidet with the modern electronic toilet seat bidet. The old style bidets were mainly intended for use by women to freshen up after going to the toilet. They required the user to straddle the appliance while facing the wall; this in turn required the user to completely remove their pants and shoes. This arrangement worked ok for women wearing a skirt but required men to completely remove their pants, underwear and shoes which was highly inconvenient and discouraged use by men.

The first toilet seat bidets started appearing in The 1980s in Japan. These "paperless toilets" were a combination toilet and bidet which washed the user with a stream of water. These combination toilet bidets with seat warmers, sometimes called "washlets", are particularly popular in Japan and South Korea. They are commonly found in hotels and even some public facilities. These bidet-toilets evolved into the toilet seat bidet which allowed the conversion of existing toilets. Google headquarters in Mountain View, California has toilet seat bidets installed in their restrooms.