How to check a hotel room or Airbnb for hidden cameras

Two minutes. One phone. Here's where hidden cameras hide, how to catch them, and what to do if you find one.

Updated · Bluemind Software

35,000

Airbnb support tickets about surveillance devices in ten years, according to the company's own testimony.

CNN investigation, 2024 ↗
1,600

guests secretly filmed and livestreamed from motel rooms in South Korea. The cameras hid in TV boxes, wall sockets and hair-dryer holders.

Voice of America, 2019 ↗

Where cameras hide

A hidden camera needs two things: power, and a view of something private — the bed, the shower, the toilet. That narrows the search to a short list of objects.

BedBathroomDesk 12345678
The highlighted cone: a TV opposite the bed has a clear view of it.
  1. Smoke detectorsceiling view of the whole room
  2. Alarm clocks & speakersbedside, facing the bed
  3. USB chargers & power stripsconstant power, easy to overlook
  4. Air vents & AC unitshigh angle, grille hides the lens
  5. Picture frames & mirrorswall-mounted, facing inward
  6. TVs & set-top boxesalready full of electronics
  7. Shelf décor & plantsclutter hides a pinhole
  8. Bathroom fixturestowel hooks, shelves, fans

Real cases match the list. In the 2019 South Korean motel case, cameras were built into digital TV boxes, wall sockets and hair-dryer holders.1

The 2-minute sweep

Each step looks for a different clue a camera gives off. Do all four — a camera that slips past one rarely slips past the others.

  1. Check the Wi-Fi. Join the room's Wi-Fi and use a network scanner app to list every connected device. Anything unfamiliar that looks like a camera deserves a closer look.Why it works: a camera that streams live video has to be on a network, and it identifies itself the way cameras do.
  2. Lights off. Look for a glint. Turn off the lights, switch on your phone's flashlight, and slowly scan everything on the list above through the camera.Why it works: a lens bounces light straight back at you — even through a pinhole — as a small, sharp point, often red or purple.
  3. Check anything odd. Hold your phone within a few centimetres of anything that caught your eye, using a magnetometer or bug-detector app.Why it works: camera electronics disturb the magnetic field right around them, and your phone's compass sensor picks up the jump.
  4. Check for trackers. Check your bag, coat and car, and scan for nearby Bluetooth trackers while you walk around for 30 seconds.Why it works: a tracker travelling with you keeps a steady signal, while everything else nearby fades in and out. Phones now also warn you about unknown trackers moving with you.8

Lens or reflection?

A reflection slides as you move. A lens stays pinned in one spot.

Glass, chrome and glossy plastic reflect your light too. Step side to side: if the point of light doesn't move, look closer.

Cameras that aren't on the Wi-Fi

Some cameras record to a memory card and never join a network, so a Wi-Fi scan can't see them. They still have a lens that reflects light and electronics that disturb the magnetic field — which is exactly what steps 2 and 3 check.

The strongest sign is two checks agreeing: a glint on a smoke detector that also makes a magnetometer reading jump.

Trackers are part of it

1 in 5 US women and 1 in 10 men have been stalked at some point in their lives.6 In 2019 alone, 3.4 million Americans were stalked, and only 29% reported it to police.7

Bluetooth trackers fit in a bag, a coat or a car — and they've been misused to follow people. So in 2024, Apple and Google created a shared standard that lets iPhones and Android phones spot unknown trackers moving with you.8 Major tracker makers, including Chipolo, eufy, Motorola and Pebblebee, have committed to it.8

Faraday recognizes all of them, plus Tile and Samsung SmartTag.

Found a camera?

Don't touch itPhotograph it in place, with enough of the room to show where it is.
Leave the roomGo somewhere you feel safe before you do anything else.
Report itTell hotel management, or report it directly to the rental platform.
Call the policeIf it covers a bedroom or bathroom. Secret recording there is a crime in most places.

Common questions

Are hidden cameras allowed in Airbnbs?

No. Since April 30, 2024, indoor cameras are banned — even switched off, even baby monitors.45 Outdoor cameras must be disclosed in the listing and can never cover spaces like outdoor showers or saunas.4 Report any indoor camera through the Airbnb app.

How common are hidden cameras in rentals and hotels?

There's no global count. But Airbnb logged 35,000 support tickets about surveillance devices in ten years,2 and South Korean police received more than 30,000 hidden-camera reports in six years.3

Sources

  1. Voice of America, 1,600 Hotel Guests Secretly Filmed, Livestreamed in S. Korea, March 20, 2019.
  2. CNN, How Airbnb fails to protect guests from hidden cameras, July 9, 2024.
  3. Human Rights Watch, “My Life Is Not Your Porn”: Digital Sex Crimes in South Korea, June 16, 2021.
  4. Airbnb Help Center, Restrictions on security cameras and other devices in homes, accessed September 2026.
  5. NPR, Airbnb bans all indoor security cameras, March 11, 2024.
  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About Stalking (National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2023/2024), accessed September 2026.
  7. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Stalking Victimization, 2019 — R. E. Morgan & J. L. Truman, February 2022.
  8. Apple Newsroom, Apple and Google deliver support for unwanted tracking alerts in iOS and Android, May 13, 2024.