Apps can detect if cameras are hidden in your holiday apartment
Airbnb prohibits the use of indoor security cameras in properties listed for rent on its site. But even with the ban coming into effect from the end of April, how can you be sure your property owner isn’t spying on you?
So-called security cameras are ridiculously easy to hide. Search sites like Amazon and eBay for “hidden security camera” and you’ll easily find cameras disguised as smoke alarms, USB power adapters, wall clocks, and many other everyday household items.
In other words, cameras inside rental properties – or even in your home – may not look like cameras. With domestic abuse charities pointing out that such devices are often used by coercive partners, it’s not just holidaymakers who need to watch out for hidden cameras.
Fortunately, there are free apps that can identify hidden cameras inside properties, even ones you don’t own. They are not 100% secure, but they can help you find a hidden camera in an Airbnb rental or in your own home that is not immediately visible to the naked eye.
How to find hidden cameras
The key to finding hidden cameras is access to the facility’s Wi-Fi network. Most Airbnb rentals offer Wi-Fi, and free apps can be used to scan the Wi-Fi network, revealing what other devices are connected.
On Android, apps like Network Analyzer will scan the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to and list other connected devices. The Ubiquiti Wifiman app does a similar job for iPhone and iPad owners.
While these apps are often all you need to discover a camera lurking online, the listed descriptions of some devices can be vague. Sometimes all you get is a list like “generic device”, which isn’t really very helpful to anyone.
This is partly due to privacy settings imposed by mobile app stores. Last year, for example, Google tightened its rules to prevent apps like Network Analyzer from collecting MAC addresses — a unique identifier found in each device — that helps such apps discover the brand and type of device connected to Wi-Fi. Fi network.
So I would recommend upping your game and installing Fing. It has free mobile apps that can detect devices on a Wi-Fi network, but it also has a free app for PC and Mac that isn’t bound by any of the MAC address restrictions imposed by mobile apps.
This means that Fing can create very detailed lists of every device connected to Wi-Fi, if you can connect your laptop to a Wi-Fi hotspot or your own home network.
As you can see below, Fing identified the Ring security camera on my property, as well as the make and exact model of many other devices.
Fing does a great job of identifying devices on a Wi-Fi network.
If you pay for the Fing Starter subscription, which you can get for $2.99 a month, it even includes a feature that specifically scans for hidden cameras and lists them in the app. These include devices like motion detectors and baby monitors, which are often used to eavesdrop on people.
Fing’s app includes a hidden camera finder
It’s worth noting that Fing can still detect devices connected to the network even if the host has set a “guest” profile on the Wi-Fi router, meaning you can’t access other devices on the home network normally.
Again, these detectors are not 100% reliable and it is possible that fraudulent landlords may use other means to collect footage from hidden cameras, such as mobile networks. But they might just help you find a camera you didn’t know existed.
Airbnb’s new camera rules
Before you confront or report an Airbnb owner about a camera you’ve discovered on their network, make sure you fully understand the new rules.
For example, the ban applies only to indoor cameras. Airbnb owners are still allowed to install exterior cameras or video doorbell systems. However, “hosts will be required to disclose the presence and general location of any exterior cameras before guests book,” Airbnb said in a statement.
“These cameras will also be prohibited from monitoring listed indoor spaces and are not permitted in certain outdoor areas where greater privacy is expected, such as an enclosed outdoor shower or sauna.”
Hosts are still allowed to use decibel monitors to ensure guests aren’t causing a disturbance or throwing parties, which is prohibited under the site’s rules. Such monitors cannot “record or transmit sounds or conversations and are only permitted in the common areas of the listing,” according to Airbnb.
The revised rules come into effect on April 30, so if you rent an Airbnb property before then, indoor cameras in common areas are still allowed, as long as they are posted on the listings pages before booking.