Does your Airbnb come with a hidden camera? Here’s how to find out

Do the Bs in Airbnb stand for Big Brother?

For better or worse, home rental services have revolutionized the way we travel. As such, lodging with Airbnb requires its own set of safety concerns that many don’t consider while lodging at conventional hotels and resorts — considerations stemming from the fact that ordinary (and some unusual) people are opening up their homes to travelers.

Users on the room-sharing platform have reported bizarre and frightening instances of discovering a hidden camera in the Airbnb they had rented.

While some owners claim it’s for their own protection — against potential theft and destruction of property — experts warn against the disturbing practice as one’s home allows for countless undercover methods to spy on their guests.

TikTok user Marcus Hutchins, an “ex-hacker” who teaches cybersecurity, shared a few tips with his followers on how to spot hidden cameras, in a recent video with now more than 33.4 million views.

“The first [places] you’re going to want to look for is devices that are conveniently placed where a creeper would want to look,” he says.

“One way to see if a device is a camera is to shine a bright light at it. If you hit a camera lens, it’s going to give a bluish reflection,” says Hutchins. You can see an example of the type of bluish reflection by shining a flashlight at a smart phone camera.

Seemingly innocuous devices such as fire alarms and alarm clocks can double as cameras, Hutchins demonstrates. In his video, a light shown on a mirrored clock face revealed a tiny camera lens behind the screen on one side of the digital counter. “If we shine a bright light at it, we can shine through the glass, and see there’s a camera there. Now, this technique can also work on two-way mirrors.”

Even wall chargers for unrelated devices can serve as cameras, as with Hutchins’ example of a USB-powered camera-clock with a tiny lens embedded in its power source. “If we shine the light on it, you can see that little pinhole in the middle with the blue reflection — that is the camera lens.”

To spot cameras with night-vision capabilities, Hutchins says to look out for infrared LED lights on the device which are needed for the camera lens see at night. While they can be difficult to find with the naked eye, peering through your iPhone camera may reveal the LEDs more readily.

“If we turn off the lights and use the front-facing phone camera, we can actually see these LEDs,” says Hutchins. He also warned the back-facing camera won’t work due to is built-in red-eye filter.

“These camera lenses are very small . . . they can be hidden in anything, even a hole in the wall,” Hutchins adds at the end of his public advisory. “Check any suspicious devices or holes that are facing the shower, dressing area or bed.”