A report of a Philly Airbnb with hidden cameras has gone viral. But the house actually had no appliances.

The Philadelphia home allegedly shown in a viral social media post about hidden cameras in an Airbnb rental ultimately had no undisclosed recording devices, police say – but sparked a wave of protests anyway. privacy issues for guests.

Philadelphia police said Tuesday evening that an investigation had been conducted at the property and that they did not have hidden cameras in fire sprinklers, as alleged by a guest on Twitter Sunday evening.

“The incident has been investigated by our special victim support unit. Detective(s) found no hidden or undisclosed cameras. Fire sprinklers are sprinkler heads,” a police department spokesperson said in an email.

The original tweet, which had received more than 61,000 retweets and nearly 300,000 likes as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, claimed there were multiple cameras at the property.

On Sunday evening, Twitter user @foxytaughtyou posted a thread that included photos of what she said appear to be improperly installed cameras throughout the Airbnb where she said she had stayed with friends. According to a video she posted, they fell asleep on a couch and woke up looking at what they thought was a camera lens.

“BE CAREFUL BOOKING AIR BNBs! My friend and I recently stayed in an air bnb in Philadelphia with over 10 hidden cameras throughout the house. Including showers and bedrooms. Some were disguised as sprinkler systems, but there is a camera lens,” she wrote on Twitter.

She did not respond to direct messages seeking comment.

An Airbnb spokesperson said the lead police detective on the case “confirmed that he found no hidden or undisclosed cameras and that the fire sprinklers had regular sprinkler heads” , and the case would be closed.

The company said the customer would still receive a refund for the stay.

In all Airbnb rentals, hidden cameras and recording devices in bedrooms, bathrooms, or sleeping areas are prohibited. Airbnb allows recording devices in public or common areas such as driveways, but the owner must disclose this information prior to a guest’s stay.

“Our policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras and we take strong action in the exceptionally rare circumstances where it has been reported, including assisting law enforcement to help them hold criminals accountable,” the spokesperson said. from Airbnb in a press release.

The spokesperson did not specify where the house was located in Philadelphia.

Airbnb says they think hidden cameras in their ads are rare, but other customers have drawn attention to them. In 2019, a couple said they found hidden cameras in a San Diego Airbnb they had stayed in, NBC7 reported. The couple eventually sued the owner.

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In August, TikTok user Marcus Hutchins, who describes himself as a former hacker teaching cybersecurity, posted a informative video who gave potential guests tips on how to spot hidden cameras. Hutchins suggested lighting places suspected of holding a camera, including alarm clocks, smoke detectors and USB charging pads.

“Now one way to see if the device is a camera is to shine a bright light on it. If you hit a camera lens, you’ll get a bluish glow,” Hutchins explains in the video.

Others advise skipping for expensive but effective “bug checkers” which can identify hidden cameras and microphones in a room.