Airbnb has banned indoor cameras in rental properties around the world following an outbreak of peeping Tom incidents.
The rental company made the announcement Monday, saying it was done in an effort to ‘prioritize privacy in our community.’
The rental site has allowed the use of cameras inside their properties as long as the owners made that clear on their listings.
According to the company, the cameras had to be ‘clearly visible’ in common areas such as kitchens or living rooms and were not allowed in private spaces such as bedrooms or bathrooms.
“The update to this policy simplifies our approach and makes it clear that security cameras are not permitted in listings, regardless of their location, purpose or prior disclosure,” the release said.
The rental company made the announcement on Monday, saying 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 several rooms of an Airbnb they rented in August 2022
Along with the ban on indoor cameras, the company also said there is a new revised copy of policies for the use of outdoor cameras, including noise decibel monitors and ringing doorbells.
These units must be made clear in the property records. The indoor camera policy change will take effect on April 30.
“These changes were made in consultation with our guests, hosts and privacy experts, and we will continue to seek feedback to ensure our policies work for our global community,” said Juniper Downs, Airbnb’s head of community policy and partnerships.
Airbnb has banned indoor cameras in rental properties around the world after an outbreak of peeping Tom incidents
This news comes as there has been an increase in cases of people around the world falling victim to hidden cameras in their rental properties.
In July, a Texas couple sued a Maryland man for $75,000 after he allegedly planted hidden cameras inside several rooms of an Airbnb they rented in August 2022.
The lawsuit, filed by Kayelee Gates and her fiance, Christian Capraro, alleged an invasion of privacy by 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 unsettling moment, Gates said: ‘I went into pure panic, pure shock.’
The pair were ‘intimate while in the shared bathroom’ and then ‘lay down on the bed, put on a movie and started to relax’, according to court documents obtained by Fox 5.
It was at this point that they noticed a smoke detector located above the bed in the middle of the loft and another in the corner, which raised their suspicions.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that these smoke detectors were actually what they believe to be hidden cameras cleverly disguised.
Their suspicions grew when they found an identical device in the bathroom.
“Like, I can feel my heart start beating really heavy and fluttering every time I start thinking about a situation. Every time I start thinking about the situation – I get a little shaky even talking about it.’
Gates described feelings of ’embarrassment, humiliation, disgrace and loss of dignity’, she said. immediately left Airbnb to seek accommodation in a hotel and immediately reported the matter to the police.
In response to their report, law enforcement officers investigated the residence and found another video recorder 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 the suspected hidden camera
Katelyn Boss (left) and her friend Rachel Horman (right) received a full refund and a free seven-day stay at 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 hidden in a light fight.
In the video, which amassed more than 12.5 million views, Katelyn Boss, 22, revealed the terrifying discovery while her friend Rachel Horman, 22, called 911.
The influencer claimed that one of the lights was pointing towards the bedroom mirror, in front of which the couple had both changed clothes.
The girls then called 911 before police officers arrived at the apartment and turned off the light fixture to find the suspect device inside.
The two girls are later shown bringing police officers up from the apartment block’s lobby, who then take apart the ceiling fitting to find out what’s inside.
But in a follow-up to the first video, Ms Boss revealed police remained unsure whether the suspect device was in fact a camera at all.
TikTokers said that the police officers who came to the apartment even had conflicting opinions about what the unusual device actually was after they had looked at it for themselves.
She noted that police were unable to find any other cameras in the property except for the suspected device inside the light fixture.
In November, a man renting 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.
Ian Timbrell, 41, from Cardiff, shared a photo of him next to the unit at X on Thursday, saying: ‘My Airbnb has a webcam that sees the whole living room. Is it wrong that I unplugged it? Seems like a huge invasion of privacy to me!’
Timbrell, who traveled to the Welsh town in his role as an LGBT inclusion trainer, paid about $51 for the room in the private home while another person was living in the property at the time.
He followed up the photo with a video of himself in the rental, saying he had also spotted flies in the kitchen and made the decision to leave a nearby hotel around 6 p.m.
LGBT inclusion trainer Ian Timbrell traveled to the Welsh town of Aberystwyth for work this week but was shocked to find a camera hidden between two sofa cushions at the Airbnb he had rented
One in ten holiday homes are fitted with hidden spy cameras and thousands of holidaymakers have no idea they are being spied on because technology has made some cameras almost too small to see, experts have warned
He told onlookers: ‘So after finding the creepy webcam in my Airbnb it’s now infested with flies.’
MailOnline contacted Airbnb for comment. A spokesman said: ‘The presence and location of the unit was disclosed in the listing description prior to booking.
‘However, we appreciate that our guest did not have a positive experience.
“Although the guest did not contact us about this, we have proactively reached out to offer support and the host has refunded them in full.
“We enforce strict rules on recording devices and take action on rare issues we become aware of.”
One in ten holiday homes are equipped with hidden spy cameras and thousands of holidaymakers have no idea they are being spied on because technology has made some cameras almost too small to see, experts have since warned.
Lenses the size of pin heads are routinely hidden in sockets, smoke alarms or mirrors, with almost one in ten rental homes now bugged, investigator Thomas Martin told CBS.
It is illegal throughout the United States to install covert cameras where residents may have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the practice is strictly prohibited 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, whether it’s been shared, whether it’s gone on the Internet,” said Maryland attorney Dan Whitney.
‘Now it’s a Pandora’s box of uncertainty.’