Airbnb has banned indoor cameras in rental properties around the world after an outbreak of peeping Tom incidents.
The rental company made the announcement on Monday and said that it was done in an effort to ‘prioritize the privacy of our community.’
The rental site has allowed for the use of cameras inside their properties as long as owners made it clear on their listings.
According to the company, the cameras had to be ‘clearly visible’ in common areas like kitchens or living rooms, and were not allowed in private spaces like bedrooms or bathrooms.
‘The update to this policy simplifies our approach and makes clear that security cameras are not allowed inside listings, regardless of their location, purpose or prior disclosure,’ the announcement said.
The rental company made the announcement on Monday and said that it was done in an effort to ‘prioritize the privacy of our community’
In July, a Texas couple sued a Maryland man for $75,000 after he allegedly planted hidden cameras inside multiple rooms of an Airbnb they rented in August 2022
Along with the ban on indoor cameras, the company also said that there is a new revised copy on policies for the use of outdoor cameras, including noise decibel monitors and ring doorbells.
Those devices will have to be made clear in the property listings. The policy change for indoor cameras will come into effect April 30.
‘These changes were made in consultation with our guests, Hosts and privacy experts, and we’ll continue to seek feedback to help ensure our policies work for our global community,’ Juniper Downs, Airbnb’s head of community policy and partnerships said.
Airbnb has banned indoor cameras in rental properties around the world after an outbreak of peeping Tom incidents
This news comes as there have been a rise in cases of people across the world falling victim to hidden cameras in their rentals.
In July, a Texas couple sued a Maryland man for $75,000 after he allegedly planted hidden cameras inside multiple rooms of an Airbnb they rented in August 2022.
The lawsuit, filed by Kayelee Gates and her fiancé, Christian Capraro, alleged an invasion of privacy perpetrated by the property owner Christoper Goisse.
The couple stumbled upon the hidden cameras in the bathroom while engaging in intimate relations, causing them immediate distress and shock, according to court documents.
Recalling the distressing moment, Gates said, ‘I went into pure panic, pure shock mode.’
The couple was ‘intimate while in the shared bathroom’ then ‘laid down on the bed, put a movie on and began to relax,’ according to court documents obtained by Fox 5.
It was at this point that they noticed a smoke detector positioned above the bed in the center of the ceiling and another one in the corner, arousing their suspicion.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that these smoke detectors were, in fact, what they believe to be cleverly disguised hidden cameras.
Their suspicions grew when they found an identical device in the bathroom.
‘Like, I can feel my heart start beating really heavy and fluttery whenever I start thinking about a situation. Whenever I start thinking about the situation – I get a little shaky even talking about it.’
Describing feelings of ’embarrassment, humiliation, disgrace, and loss of dignity,’ Gates said she left the Airbnb immediately to seek accommodation at a hotel and promptly reported the matter to the police.
In response to their report, law enforcement officers investigated the residence and found another video recording device camouflaged as a smoke detector in the basement, where another guest was staying.
Rachel Horman (pictured) and Katelyn Boss were visiting Miami, Florida from their home in Utah when they discovered suspected hidden camera
Katelyn Boss (left) and her friend Rachel Horman (right) received a full refund and a free seven day stay in another Airbnb property
The Airbnb owner, Goisse, had denied any wrongdoing when confronted about the incident and suggested the possibility that the guests might have planted the devices themselves, before reporting the matter to the police.
Earlier that month, two girls from Utah who rented a property in Miami, Florida found a suspected camera concealed in a light fighting.
In the video which amassed more than 12.5million views, Katelyn Boss, 22, uncovered the frightening discovery while her friend Rachel Horman, 22, called 911.
The influencer claimed one of the lights was pointed towards the bedroom mirror, in front of which the pair had both changed their clothes.
The girls then called emergency services before police officers came to the flat and unscrewed the light fitting to find the suspect device inside.
The two girls are later shown bringing police officers up from the apartment block lobby who then take apart the ceiling fitting to work out what is inside.
But in a follow up to the initial video, Ms Boss revealed the police remained unsure whether the suspect device was in fact a camera at all.
The TikToker said the police officers who came to the flat even had conflicting opinions about what the unusual device actually was after looking at it themselves.
She noted the police failed to find any other cameras in the property aside from the suspected device inside the light fitting.
In November, a man who rented a room on Airbnb for a work trip in the Welsh seaside town of Aberystwyth in the UK said he was shocked to find a ‘creepy webcam’ between two sofa cushions in the living room after checking in.
Posting on X, Ian Timbrell, 41, from Cardiff, shared a photo of him on Thursday next to the device in the short term rental, saying: ‘My Airbnb has a webcam watching the whole living room. Am I wrong to have unplugged it? Seems like a huge invasion of privacy to me!’
Timbrell, who was travelling to the Welsh town in his role as an LGBT inclusion trainer, paid around approximately $51 for the room in the private home, with one other person staying in the property at the time.
He followed up the photo with a video of himself in the rental, saying he’d discovered flies in the kitchen too and made the decision to vacate to a nearby hotel at around 8pm.
LGBT inclusion trainer Ian Timbrell travelled to the Welsh town of Aberystwyth for work this week but was shocked to find a camera tucked between two sofa cushions in the Airbnb that he’d rented
One in ten vacation rentals are fitted with hidden spy cameras and thousands of vacationers have no idea they are being spied on in because technology has rendered some cameras almost too small to see, experts have warned
He told those watching: ‘So, after finding the creepy webcam in my Airbnb it’s now been infested with flies.’
contacted Airbnb for comment. A spokesperson said: ‘The presence and location of the device was disclosed in the listing description before booking.
‘However, we appreciate that our guest did not have a positive experience.
‘While the guest did not contact us about this, we have proactively reached out to offer support and the Host has fully refunded them.
‘We enforce strict rules on recording devices and take action on rare issues brought to our attention.’
One in ten vacation rentals are fitted with hidden spy cameras and thousands of vacationers have no idea they are being spied on in because technology has rendered some cameras almost too small to see, experts have since warned.
Lenses the size of pinheads are routinely concealed in sockets, smoke alarms or mirrors, with nearly one-in-ten rental homes now bugged, investigator Thomas Martin told CBS.
It is illegal across the US to install secret cameras where residents might have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the practice is strictly forbidden by rental companies such as AirBnB and VRBO.
But the devices have been found in bedrooms, bathrooms and even shower heads filming guests’ most intimate moments.
‘Once that recording is made, it’s impossible to know where it went, who sent it, has it been shared, has it gone on the internet,’ said Maryland attorney Dan Whitney.
‘Now it’s a Pandora’s box of uncertainty.’