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family-finds-hidden-camera-in-airbnb-smoke-alarm
A New Zealand family was shocked to find a camera hidden in the smoke alarm of their Airbnb during a vacation in Ireland, which the father of the clan discovered as he was connecting his cell phone to the Wi-Fi.
[...] "He scanned that device's ports and found the live video feed. We were all watching ourselves on his mobile phone," Barker said of the horrifying find. The camera offered a view of the living room, dining and kitchen area.
Related:
How to Scan Your Airbnb for Hidden Cameras
Should we be searching for hidden spy cameras in Airbnbs and hotels?
[This seems to be an ongoing issue for Airbnb. Have other Soylentils used the platform, and if so have you found hidden monitoring devices? - Ed]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Sunday April 14 2019, @08:09PM (4 children)
There does also have to be some mention of "AirBnB isn't regulated the way hotels are, and that probably affects behavior on both the side of the renter and the property owner."
As you mention, property owners have a very legitimate reason to have camera footage of their property. For example, video proof that a guest damaged the property would seem to be very useful in case of fire damage and such.
Plus, do you really think hotels don't have cameras in hallways, lobbies, and other non-bedroom non-bathroom locations? If I had to guess, the ones that don't are the real dumps who can't afford them and/or rent rooms by the hour.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday April 14 2019, @08:48PM (3 children)
Hallways and lobbies are places where you don't have any privacy expectations. Also, I'd expect the hotel to be open about the existence of such cameras.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 14 2019, @09:27PM
On the other hand how often do you think they check their hotel rooms really? If I installed a camera in a smoke detector or vent in a hotel room I'm fairly sure it would actually be there for quite a while.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Sunday April 14 2019, @09:38PM (1 child)
On the other hand, if you rent an AirBnB, what exactly is your expectation of privacy? And is it different from being in a buddy's home hanging out while your buddy is making a beer run?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday April 15 2019, @06:19AM
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.