The Next Time You Check Into A Hotel Room, Here’s How To Tell If Someone’s Spying On You

Well, the first step is to search your room. You check the bathroom, but nobody’s there. You open up the wardrobe, only to find just a few hangers. And after looking underneath the bed, you conclude that you’re just being paranoid. Still, though, you can’t shake the feeling.

So, you decide to lie down on the bed and try to forget about it. You’re probably just overtired, and all you need is to relax a little. You turn on the TV, then, and start running a bath. And after you’ve hopped into the tub, warm water soothing your body, you begin to calm down. But that’s when you notice it.

There's a shelf hanging from the wall beside your television. It doesn’t seem particularly important, yet for some reason you can’t take your eyes off it. And your gaze is drawn to a black object – maybe a charger for a cellphone? On the surface, nothing about this item seems alarming, but you still feel that something’s wrong.

So, you decide to hop off your bed and approach the shelf. And the closer you get, the more obvious it becomes that this object is not, in fact, a phone charger. Even when you pick it up, you still don’t quite know what it actually is. Eventually, though, the penny drops: you’re holding a tiny camera.

This is a nightmarish scenario, but it’s one that more of us are beginning to dread. And it’s not beyond the realms of possibility, as technological advancements have led to increasingly sophisticated hidden cameras appearing on the market. Yep, we now live in a world where these devices are no longer merely the stuff of Cold War spy thrillers.

Think about how tiny your phone camera is, for instance! And it’s not totally paranoid to think that you’re being watched in public, as CCTV is all around our cities and towns. But hidden cameras in places we thought were private spaces is, for most of us, a step too far.

Concealed cameras could give away some of your most intimate secrets, after all. And you don’t just have to worry about someone placing a sneaky recording device in your home. There have been reports of such devices capturing footage of airplanes, medical clinics and – most appallingly – in restrooms.

Some argue that the usage of hidden camera technology is appropriate and justified in certain situations. It may, for instance, be helpful in protecting a business from falling victim to vandalism or theft. But there’s unfortunately little to stop a person with more sinister motives from using these cameras, too.

Worse still, it’s fairly simple for folks with bad intentions to get their hands on hidden cameras. And as these devices are so often cleverly concealed, it’s difficult to say for sure how widespread their usage really is. This is truly unsettling – especially when you consider how perfect the cameras are for shady activities.

There are plenty of devices that wouldn’t look out of place in your home, either. It’s easy as pie to purchase a camera masquerading as a picture frame, for example, or as an alarm clock. And this tech is a doddle to set up, meaning you don’t need to be all that computer-savvy to use it.

So, should you really be worried about hidden cameras in places that should be secure? Well, maybe. In 2019 NBC News ran a story about the disturbing experience of Florida woman Paige Blair, who claimed that she had discovered a clandestine recording device set up in her Airbnb.

During her stay, Blair apparently discovered two separate gadgets monitoring her activities inside the accommodation. She recalled to NBC News, “I turned to leave the kitchen, and there was a camera. Suddenly, every little tiny pinhole and every piece of sheetrock looked like a camera to me.”

Blair was understandably outraged by this invasion of her privacy and got in touch with Airbnb to lodge a complaint. And while the company ultimately provided her with a refund, she was still dismayed by the experience. Blair told NBC News, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, and frankly Airbnb doesn’t know, either.”

To get the other side of the story, NBC News reached out to the owner of the Airbnb property to seek a response. And this person – known only as Aaron – appeared to regret what had happened. He said, “I felt bad. I understand how she felt uneasy – being a single female traveling alone.”

The homeowner attempted to justify his cameras, however, by pointing to instances of forced entries in other properties. He also claimed that his recording technology was set up for the sake of his insurance policy. And perhaps in an attempt to put Blair’s mind at rest, Aaron alleged he wasn’t actually able to remotely view the footage that had been taken.

You could say that Aaron had a point, too, as folks who rent out their properties through Airbnb have a lot to lose. They may argue that hidden cameras keep the house safer, then, or act as an assurance that the people staying in the space don’t break any rules.

And these measures could be justified if the homeowner clearly informs their guests of any devices in advance. NBC News reported on an owner of an Airbnb property in New Orleans who displayed an information sheet mentioning that there were cameras in the place. Apparently, many of her patrons welcomed such a measure.

But even when cameras are freely acknowledged, there can still be problems. While Ned Mooslin was aware that his Airbnb rental housed recording devices, he ultimately discovered that one camera inside the kitchen was positioned to catch and fine guests who didn’t wash their crockery. Speaking to NBC News, Mooslin remarked, “It felt very oppressive – like every move was being watched and recorded.”

Cameras that are clear to see are unsettling enough, but the idea that there are discreet devices capturing all moments of your stay is downright frightening. Computer science professor Jeff Bigham knows this from personal experience after he found some hidden cameras in his Airbnb. Appalled by the situation, Bigham then wrote a blog post that drew attention on the internet.

In his blog entry, Bigham talked both of his own ordeal and of disturbing things that others have gone through. He said in 2019, “There have been super terrible examples of privacy violations by Airbnb hosts. [For example], people have found cameras hidden in alarm clocks in their bedrooms.”

And Bigham’s piece encourages readers to really ponder the levels of surveillance that we find acceptable in society today. He wrote, “All of us need to think carefully about how we will live in an increasingly surveilled world. Just because it’s so easy to record everything now, [it] doesn’t mean we should.”

But even if we’re constantly being tracked on CCTV, we shouldn’t have to feel as though our privacy is being invaded when we’re staying somewhere that isn’t our home. So, what measures are available to us to protect ourselves against this peril when we stay in a hotel or an Airbnb?

Well, luckily, we have some handy tips to share. Back in 2018, SmarterTravel Media’s managing editor Caroline Morse Teel got in touch with a veteran of the U.S. military who has specific experience in searching for devices of this nature. And this person – known only as “The Monk” – had some great insight on the matter.

The Monk explained, “There are essentially three primary methods for checking for a hidden camera: scanning of radio frequencies, lens detection and physical search. Many handheld devices that do RF scanning and lens detection are available on the commercial market, with most costing less than $100. However, no single method is going to be 100 percent accurate.”

What’s The Monk referring to when they talk about RF-scanning handheld devices? Well, these are instruments that pick up on signals given off by secret cameras. And, fortunately, you can actually buy this equipment pretty easily nowadays. That means we’re not totally defenseless against those seeking to invade our privacy!

Sadly, though, RF scanners are by no means a sure means of finding hidden cameras. The Monk explained to SmarterTravel, “RF scanning... will only help in identifying a device if that device is actively transmitting. If the data is transmitted only at intervals, then an RF scanner will be fairly useless.”

So, what of The Monk’s other tips? Well, lens detection can also be a useful measure in identifying a hidden camera. To do this, basically, you need to plunge the room into darkness before switching on a flashlight. Then look around the room using this light. If there’s a camera hidden away, then hopefully its lens will be reflected, and you’ll notice it.

The Monk told SmarterTravel, “Lens detection is very effective if used properly. But it requires patience and proper technique. If you are too far from the lens, sweep the room too quickly or are just standing at the wrong angle... then you’ll likely miss seeing the lens when it reflects the light from your own light source.”

And if you don’t find a camera but are still suspicious? Well, you’ll have to resort to active searching. This will be a tedious task – meaning that you’ll have to look through every nook and cranny. So many objects in the room could potentially be used to conceal a video recording device, after all.

The Monk has warned, though, that a proper scour of a room isn’t a flawless solution, either. He said, “Physical inspection can be the most thorough method. But this requires both patience and access that you may not have. If you can’t get away with prying open smoke detectors, opening the backs of paintings and possibly opening a section of a wall to see if anything is inside, then you won’t be able to complete a full and proper physical search.”

So, given that these cameras can be really difficult to find – even when you’re actively looking for them – you need to get clever. First off, you should think about where someone would realistically position a clandestine device. And when speaking to SmarterTravel, a hotel security expert named Jack Plaxe gave us all some hints.

Plaxe said, “Cameras typically need a clear view of the subject to get the best images. A visual scan of the room in key areas such as sleeping rooms [and] bathrooms... may reveal clues that lead to the discovery of covert devices. For example, an unusually positioned object in the room may warrant a closer inspection.”

The Monk also added their two cents, suggesting, “Bathrooms, bedrooms and office space [and] desks are very common targets. Areas where computer screens are going to be visible are especially sought after, as the camera may capture login passwords, bank account information, personal browsing habits and all sorts of other valuable information.”

But even if you know these tricks of the trade, there really is no guarantee that you’ll find a secret camera. If the person rigging the device is in any way technologically competent, then they’ll be able to set it up within the most mundane of objects. And this will ultimately make it really hard to track down.

If the camera’s located inside something humdrum like a power adapter, for instance, then there’s every chance it could be overlooked. This means you’ll need to keep an eye out for other signs that something is amiss in the room. And luckily for us all, The Monk has pointed out some of these potential clues.

The Monk said, “In hotel rooms, for example, if items continue to be placed in a particular location after a room is serviced, then that could be a sign that the item needs to be positioned that way so that a camera has a good angle of view. Of course, this could also just be the maid tidying up. So, don’t immediately jump to full paranoia.”

And knowing what to look for is a useful skill as more of us plump for Airbnb properties over traditional hotels. Hopefully, it’ll mean that we can keep our private lives away from prying eyes – or, rather, prying camera lenses.

So, next time you’re on vacation, remember The Monk’s three steps for locating secret cameras. None of these methods is completely reliable, of course. But taken together, they should at least increase our chances of finding a concealed device, and we’ll be in a better position than we otherwise would be.

The Monk concurred, saying, “When faced with these types of limitations, often it is best to utilize a hybrid of all three search methods to whatever extent you find possible. You may not be able to achieve 100 percent confidence that the space is clear of hidden devices. But you’ll be a lot closer than you were when you first walked into the room.”