How to tell if your AirBnb has a hidden camera
While there are a lot of things that come to mind when planning a holiday, worrying about safety in your accommodation is probably at the end of your list.
However, with a rise of home-rental services and the easy accessibility to surveillance technology, it's an important thing to consider.
More and more travellers have come forward in recent years about their horror stories of discovering a hidden camera in a short term rental, putting out the warning to others.
In a now-viral video posted to TikTok by Marcus Hutchins, he outlines how to spot hidden cameras in hotels and Airbnbs.
“Take this fire alarm for instance, it is placed right above the bed,” the British backpacker says in the video.
“Now one way to see if the device is a camera is to shine a bright light at it. If you hit a camera lens it’s going to get a blue-ish reflection.”
Marcus also details how alarm clocks can double as cameras, as he demonstrates in his video by shining his smart phone's flash on a mirrored clock face revealing a tiny camera lens behind the screen on one side of the digital counter.
“If we shine a bright light at it, we can shine through the glass, and see there’s a camera there. Now, this technique can also work on two-way mirrors.”
The video has racked up over 5 million views, and has served as another reminder to always be cautious when travelling.
Image credits: Shutterstock