If you aren’t already inspecting your hotel room or Airbnb before settling in, you might want to start.
Airbnb’s regulations require hosts to inform guests where any cameras are located, but if those hosts had sinister intentions from the start, breaking rules wouldn’t make much of a difference, as various cases have proven in the past. The same goes for many hotels.Former hacker Marcus Hutchins (@malwaretech) shared a video with his TikTok followers in which he demonstrated how to use your own snooping skills to find hidden cameras in a rented room.
He first recommended looking for devices “conveniently placed where a creeper would want to look,” then pointed out locations where people often move and sleep.
“Take this fire alarm, for instance. It is placed right above the bed. One way to see if the device is a camera is to shine a bright light at it,” he explained. “If you hit a camera lens, it’s going to get a bluish reflection. Now you can test this by shining a light at your phone and seeing how the camera looks when placed under a flashlight.”
Items like alarm clocks and USB chargers could also contain small hidden cameras, Hutchins said. So can mirrors.
He issued a final warning to be on the lookout for tiny cameras that “can be hidden in anything, even a hole in the wall.”
The video has since racked up more than 20 million views and 17,000 comments. Other TikTok users were seriously disturbed.
“Fantastic, another thing to be paranoid about,” one said.
“Another reason to never leave my house,” another wrote.
In a comment, Hutchins clarified that finding a camera in your Airbnb or hotel is “pretty rare, but does happen sometimes.”
Next time you’re staying away from home, don’t be scared — just be vigilant and keep that flashlight handy.
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