Woman says she found more than 10 hidden cameras in Airbnb showers and rooms

An Airbnb guest is warning other users of the rental company after she says she found hidden cameras scattered around a property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Be careful booking Airbnbs,” Twitter user @foxytaughtyou said on June 12 in a post with over 285,000 likes.

“My friend [and] I recently stayed at [an Airbnb] in Philadelphia with over 10 hidden cameras all over the house,” she continued. “Including showers and bedrooms. Some were disguised as sprinkler systems, but [had] a camera lens.”

The guest joined two Pictures supposed “sprinklers”, which she said displayed camera lenses when exposed to a “flash test”.

Cybersecurity educator Marcus Hutchins recommends looking for electronic devices in areas that might be ideally positioned to spy on an Airbnb and shed light on any suspicious devices. When a flashlight hits a camera lens, it emits a bluish glow.

“We noticed that these ‘sprinkler’ CAMERAS were placed in places to get the perfect view of people,” the guest added along with a video of a device placed on the wall opposite a bed.

“Luckily it was a girl’s trip so I didn’t have sex…but I was naked and had to change in that room,” she said.

As soon as they found the alleged cameras, the guests alerted Airbnb, which moved them to another property. They also filed a complaint with the local police. The woman said she never met the Airbnb host, who did not return their phone calls.

An Airbnb guest is warning other users of the rental company after she says she found hidden cameras scattered around a property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Be careful booking Airbnbs,” she said in a tweet on June 12.
Chesnot / Contributor/Getty Images Europe

“It’s so DANGEROUS, [and] scary!” she said. “Thank goodness we noticed the cameras and got out of there!”

Airbnb said Newsweek in a statement, “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.”

In this case, a spokesperson added, “Our security team has suspended this host and removed this listing from our platform while we thoroughly investigate this report. We are also providing support to our guest, including including a full refund.”

On Twitter, the woman received both support and criticism from skeptics who suggested the sprinklers she saw were just that.

“Ugh. I would go to town with these cams with spray paint and oil. Disgusting,” one supporter wrote.

Another suggested: “You need to make sure you have tape to cover those lenses…it’s still scary, I wonder if there’s any legal action you could take against this.”

But a more dubious commenter said: “Next time you’re suspicious of a sprinkler in a side wall, grab something and smash the bulb. The bulb hides the battery and the dirty water definitely won’t come out if it’s actually a “

Airbnb has been in hot water for hidden cameras before.

Another guest went viral in February for allegedly discovering a hidden camera in his host’s bathroom, apparently disguised as a charger port.

In 2019, a couple sued an Airbnb owner in San Diego after allegedly finding two cameras hidden in small holes in the bathroom and a third in the bedroom ceiling, according to NBC 7 San Diego.

And in 2017, a viral tweet revealed an Airbnb host’s “motion sensor,” which was actually a web-connected camera for remote viewing.

Newsweek contacted @foxytaughtyou for comment.

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