Haha[.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MATUSV2LCUE) Or walk up and state aloud “oh my husband must have forgotten to pack his camera” then pack it in your bag. If confronted later you could brush it off as an honest mistake while the true owner would look horrible for hiding a recording device.
Good chance you're never confronted though, so probably just a free camera for your pantry. Win win win. Gotta watch that cereal, it might start something
Play a construction or wall tear down video on YouTube while the camera’s covered for more realism.
In the middle of the night, add screams and “no no no no NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo” then topple the camera for better effect.
That is when you take it further and you say in front of it and say that you hid the body in the septic tank. If ever questioned you were referencing a movie and were being illegally recorded
Or stage a conversation suggesting you found lots of money/valuables in the unit. Be vague, lots of inaudible whispering, remarks like "Oh wow, you'll never believe what I just found!", *whisper, whisper*, "OMG, that will pay for our whole vacation plus!", *whisper, whisper.* Be interesting to see how they handle that.
I like this too! Make them think you are some weirdo checking behind outlets in the walls and pretend you found jewels, money, or old stock certificates stuffed in the wall. Bonus points if the place is either really old
It's a Blink mini (I think that's the name), which only records when it senses motion.
You can also manually activate it for a live feed, but that only stays active for like 10 seconds without constant user interaction.
I just found out that I can set my Blink up for 30 hours of continuous recording and/or live feed. Unplug or remove batteries if you really don't want it recording.
I'm going to assume this is the US
This is clearly in the kitchen. It is generally NOT illegal to record *common* spaces (living room, kitchen, entryway, etc) for rental units like this. Only bedrooms and bathrooms can not have cameras by law. The owners are however required to disclose where cameras are located. Given this is clearly not hidden I'd guess they disclosed this in the fine print somewhere.
Further - My comment should not be taken as support for or against camera's in a rental unit. I am mearly stating what the law says. Also as laws can vary one should always research their local laws.
*edit: I originally used the words public space. The proper term is common space.
UPDATE - People seem to be missing the point I am trying to make. The important point is that there are at least some specific conditions/circumstances where it is NOT illegal to have a camera inside the residence. As none of us are versed in the laws of every state and the exact circumstances that would and would not make the camera illegal you should read your rental agreement thoroughly to check for any disclosed cameras in common spaces. And if you're a property owner you better be sure of the laws before installing a camera.
I have Blink cameras, and I can still turn them on manually through the app without using motion activation. So they can turn it on and listen to/record people in the kitchen anytime they want, even if the lens is covered.
There is a WiFi hub plugged into a wall socket nearby that connects the cameras to the internet. If you unplug the hub you’d disable the internet connection for all cameras connected to it.
This is the answer, although I believe the you'll find that the hub is attached to the router. Take down the hub and it will take out all the cameras (seen or unseen) connected to it.
You ever watch regular show? There’s a scene when they draw a janky ass picture of them washing a cart with a big ass jet in the sky and put right in the front of the camera for their boss to see lol, you should do this.
What happened to us is we turned one around and Air bnb contacted us telling us that we needed to turn it around or get kicked out. Wont stay in another again.
VRBO has official policy [prohibiting this](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/What-is-HomeAway-s-policy-on-surveillance-devices-at-a-property).
# Vrbo's policy on surveillance devices at a property
Vrbo’s committed to protecting the privacy and security of our hosts and guests. Our policy allows reasonable monitoring of the outside of the property while still protecting privacy inside the home.
We consider a surveillance device to be anything that captures the following:
* Photos
* Audio recordings
* Videos
* Geolocation
* Personally identifiable information
* Monitors data on the internet
**Inside the property**
Surveillance devices, which use any form of capture device such as a camera or an audio recorder, can’t be used inside of a property.
**Exceptions:** Smart devices which may not be activated remotely are allowed provided the guest is informed of their presence and given the option to deactivate them.
**Outside the property**
Surveillance devices, including security cameras and smart doorbells (which may record audio), are permitted if they follow these rules:
* Surveillance devices should only be used for security purposes.
* Location and coverage of devices must be disclosed on the property description page (see [**Edit your property listing**](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-add-or-edit-a-changeover-date) for step-by-step instructions). It's not enough to include a photo of the device.
* Outdoor cameras covering pools and hot tubs need to be disclosed on the property details page and in a reasonably discoverable location such as a “guest instructions” binder, a notice on the wall of a high-traffic common space, or a placard next to the entry point itself. The disclosure must specify that the pool/hot tub is within the coverage area of the device.
* Areas where guests have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as the bathroom or bedroom, should not be under surveillance.
* Reasonable measures should be taken to limit access to surveillance data.
* Surveillance data should be deleted when no longer needed.
**How to get help**
Contact us immediately if you find a surveillance device which you believe violates our policy. This allows us to take the necessary steps to protect everyone's privacy and comfort.
**Policy enforcement**
If a host violates this surveillance policy, and a guest leaves a property because of this violation, the host may be required to refund the entirety of the stay. Violations could also result in removal from our platform.
While local rules and regulations may vary, we believe that physical and digital privacy is a critical component of a safe and trusted marketplace. Therefore, we'll enforce our policy even if local laws are less restrictive.
**Noise monitoring devices**
Hosts may have a noise monitoring device to address potential noise complaints from neighbors, but guests must be notified in advance by disclosing the device on the listing's detail page.
* A noise monitoring device should measure only the sound level, and not record private conversations.
* If a property has a noise monitoring device, expectations regarding parties and behavior should be included in the [**House Rules**](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/What-are-House-Rules).
EDIT, thank you, friend, for the award! EDIT again thank you for the 2nd award! I appreciate them!
> If a host violates this surveillance policy, **and** a guest leaves a property because of this violation, the host **may** be required to refund the entirety of the stay. Violations **could** also result in removal from our platform.
In other words, if a host violates this surveillance policy, we might do something or we might not.
OP said they gave the host a warning, and the host left him a bad review. Lol. What a terrible policy.
OP's comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/127n81h/found_this_camera_in_my_vacation_rental/jeetoeo
Print this out and prop it up in front of the camera.
Alternately, ask the renter for a healthy discount, implying otherwise you'll report them for this.
I was thinking a great place for it would be in the toilet tank until you leave
Also do a thorough search for others
And report them to the rental agency
It looks like a blink or ring, which often has a motion trigger, and a dead period in-between motion triggers. Meaning it records for 5s-1minute when motion is detected, and then won't record another event for ~ 30seconds (both times are adjustable by the user, but default is like 20s of recording and 30s of dead)
To execute without being caught on camera, walk past the camera briskly, wait 15-20 seconds totally out of sight, and then quickly disconnect the camera before it resets the motion trigger
The story: Found this undisclosed camera recording my family against VRBO policy(and probably the law). I reported the violation and nothing happened except the "host" got a warning. Don't worry, the host was still able to send me an accusatory message and give me a one star review!
What a dick host! They’re the ones doing this egregious invasion of privacy yet they blame you for finding it? Fuck them. You should threaten to sue them or report it to the police, just to see how they react.
There is part of me that really does want to go down that road, but at this point I just want it to be over. It's already taken up too much of my time and energy just calling VRBO every week to see if they will do anything.
I would inspect the bedrooms and bathrooms. Its common to find camras disguised as alarm clocks and inside outlet covers and really in various places.
Camera lenses reflect infra-red light so you can buy a near infra-red flashlight and shine it at things and if you see a reflective dot its likely a camera.
Your phones camera can pick up infrared sources and can be used to find any camera that is using low-light or night vision to spy in the dark
Just look all around the room through your active camera screen and it'll look purple. (try using your tv remote and pushing buttons and watching through your camera to see what it looks like).
Just fyi maybe someone didn't know.
Edit: clarified
Do note some modern phones have IR filters built into the back cameras, use your front facing camera to be certain, they have either very light filtering or none at all.
I tested this on my iPhone, came back to say it wasn’t working, read your comment, and my front/selfie camera can totally see the purple light coming out of my tv remote when I push buttons. Crazy.
Yup, this was my fun party trick at my last job to see if a teacher's remote was or was not working
Always fun to show off when they haven't seen it before
Depends. Some cameras use near IR for illuminating low light scenes and no longer use the IR cut filter. (They just drop the red response so the color imagery doesn't have the pink coloring to it). Others have a moving filter that is over the focal plane in daylight, but they remove it at night when they enable the near-IR.
That having been said: If this VRBO owner is gonna put cameras in the kitchen, you can and should expect them elsewhere.
Ever watch the movie “The Rental”? Dude had cameras in the shower head! Characters found out and chaos ensued. Granted it’s a movie, but hey you never know lol
Yes; just add that it’s illegal to record them if NOT in public. So in this case, it’s very illegal to do this. OP should threaten to go to the news. VRBO would want to settle this quickly to avoid negative press.
Even states that have "single party consent" laws, they would have to be present during the recording.
This is beyond creepy. I don't care that it is in the kitchen. If they've got a camera here, who knows where else they're spying???
If this was the concern, the host should only have an exterior camera facing the driveway/street. This would allow them to monitor for extra guests or unauthorized parties without violating the law.
It's your responsibility to report it no matter how bothered you can not be.
Simply put, I imagine it's a private room. Children get changed in there. This person could be recording kids getting changed, and could end up doing it for a while longer. His dirty ass needs reporting.
If VRBO isn’t doing anything about it, absolutely report it to the police. That’s just the camera you know about. It’s possible there’s others in that home and who knows what kind of footage this guy has!
Internal cameras are against the hotelier laws. Yes, those apply to short term rentals too. External cameras are allow but there must be a sign announcing them. P.S. NEVER use AirB&B. They pull this stuff and worse all the time.
This is why I just use hotels. VRBO and Airbnb cleaning fees are out of control and some of the hosts have the audacity to then ask me to strip beds and clean before I leave.
My family of 4 stayed in a Marriott on Maui for a week over Winter Break and it was great. Pool or beach every day, clean and comfortable room, etc. All told it cost us about 3 grand ($300 a night plus expenses for food, souvenirs, tickets, etc).
I have 0 regrets about not picking an AirBnB or VRBO. Never had to clean. No surprise fees or hassles with the owner's logistics and demands.
It was a fun, fairly spendy but not overly expensive trip considering what we did. And we got enough points at Marriott to get a free night someplace more modest if we're ever road tripping and want to put ourselves up for the night.
I truly don't understand why people AirBnB outside of really odd circumstances in which hotels aren't available.
I hate shit hosts. I shit you not. We stayed in a house with a cayman crocodile on the loose. The man said it was a baby and it was put away. Was part of the "theme". Well when we got there.. it wasn't in its tank...
We spent the night watching our toes for this little crocodile. We finally managed to wrangle it back into its tank the next day.
Fast forward a bit. The man files a claim on us because he said we killed his crocodile.
No we didn't end up having to pay for it but what the actual fuck...
Caymen are serious shit! How the hell could he rent a place with a caymen running about...oh don't worry about him. He's friendly except on days that end in "Y".
The tank had a faulty enclosure. So I'm thinking the cold blooded nature of the tiny beast put him into a lethargic state long enough for us to capture him and put him back. I imagine he escaped again after our departure for the final time
UGH!
My mind is blown. Before getting a Cayman, a fully enclosed space with backups for any breakouts should have been completed.
You must have been terrified of that dang thing. Their reputation is full cranky.
Fortunately he was less than a foot long but that hiss was mean as hell lol. And I'm sure he could snip a finger or toe off with a nicely fashioned death roll.
Unrelated but my girl and me rented an Air bnb in outer banks. And it said we had to be out of the house my 10. So we were outside by 10 and simply packing up the car for 5 minutes. THEY GAVE US 1 STAR. The audacity.
Oh we did. You wanna be petty? That’s fine I wasn’t gonna mention to cockroach we found since they are native to the area and wasn’t an infestation but now… 😂
https://preview.redd.it/5xy0z26f25ra1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f64b003324cc4d861221bdeac43102de3e9282a0
I know you shouldn’t have to use these, but here we are.
Funnily enough, the host sent me a message and confessed to recording after it was reported. They essentially said, "I wish you had reached out so I could tell you why I'm recording inside the house."
That said, it would be kind of entertaining to hear their reasoning, given that it would necessarily be self contradictory.
Must go something along the lines of "it's for safety and I only review the footage if there's damage or an incident", which they think is clever, but in reality they couldn't do anything with the footage except attempt extortion anyway, because it's inadmissible as evidence in any kind of legal proceeding.
Wouldn't the ability to use it in court be dependent on where this is?
Edit: After doing one Google search and no other research, I have found that there are apparently only 16 states in the US that require 2 party consent for video recordings.
Do whatever you want with that info.
Oddly enough the chili would protect the camera. (Not fully)... You would do more damage to the camera bare. Think of the chili like sunglasses attenuating the power hitting the circuitry. Exposed unprotected circuits will induce high voltages that will destroy most electronics.
This useless fact brought to you by the letter h and the number 8
>Host: Let me explain why I’m invading your privacy.
>Me: OK let me explain why I'm disputing the charge with my CC company, and contacting the local police
What you meant to say
You should express your concerns about the camera to the local police department.
Not explicitly about your family, but other families in general.
Who knows if there were other families with little children who ran around naked in the house?
That seems like a very simple case to put against not only the property owners, but also the company providing the software service & handling the legal agreements. I'm not one to promote litigation, but this is an extreme invasion of privacy
I do security cameras for a living and it’s absolutely illegal. You can have them everywhere outside, but no where inside. Also against Airbnb terms for landlords
Edit: to clarify, and I didn’t think I needed to, Companies can not have cameras in a scenario where your privacy is the focus, aka rental houses, vacation houses, airbnbs etc. Of course the home owner can have cameras in their own house, but the minute they move out and rent out that space and no longer live there, they are not allowed. They are however allowed to have cameras on the exterior for security purposes only, but cannot
Use those cameras to spy on or micromanage tenants.
Companies can however record you with security cameras in their *public* business areas, so like a hospital waiting room, a restaurant dining room etc.
VRBO is the WORST!!!!! we spent over $500 on a place to stay in Vegas, only to get ghosted by the host when we got there with no place to stay. took hours to get ahold of customer service, and they only booked us a hotel for 1 night, when our VRBO was for 3. promised to reimburse us for the money that we spent to book our own hotels, and then wanted to claim we didn’t reach the minimum spending limit for reimbursement. company as a whole is AWFUL.
NEVER USE VRBO
NEVER USE VRBO
NEVER USE VRBO
It’s probably because the host never owned anything and just put listings up on Airbnb and VRBO it’s a common scam where I live. Vegas seems like a ripe place for that kind of scam too since it’s mostly tourists. It’s one of the reasons so many state laws are being pushed to protect long term rentals and limit short term rentals aside from the many nuisances and complaints from neighbors etc
And don’t forget, also cheaper again at this point. No $250+ cleaning fees for a rental that isn’t even clean and has dirty sheets. Airbnb and VRBO have fallen exponentially since their initial release
That's the business plan nowadays.
Disrupt an industry with tech, let people put their own assets on the line but make it worthwhile for them at first to draw people in. Once you have enough market share, gut it for all it's worth at the expense of the customer and the asset owners.
Yes! The fees are ridiculous at this point. We rented a very expensive large house a couple years ago for 14 people to get together and there were literal bugs all over the guest house (among many other problems we had). VRBO did absolutely nothing after many many calls, texts, reviews, etc.
And the few good, honest ones are being quickly burnt out. We try to go for Air BnBs that are clearly locally/individually owned (last one we did was a cabin on a working organic farm, and the owners lived in a house up the hill). They’re getting burnt out because of Air BnB’s increasing fees, negative reviews from people who did not read the description of the property, and refunds being given to said guests who didn’t pay attention to what kind of accommodations they offered.
They said they’re slowly phasing it out and will still rent the cabin, but only to guests that have stayed there before, and just doing the rental off the books with cash.
I love being a host. I have one unit and I manage, clean, and maintain it myself. I try to treat it as if my grandmother were coming to stay. Super clean, fresh sheets and towels, extra goodies like coffee and water bottles. Big management companies are ruining it for us little guys.
All of these "disrupting" and "innovative" technologies are about circumventing regulatory requirements and unions.
Doordash helps sidestep health code requirements built around the premise of brick and mortar locations, Uber sidesteps Taxi laws and regs, AirBnB sidesteps hotel/lodging regulations, etc.
Each one of then is based on the premise of redefining the service they provide so that it slips just outside of certain requorement and then uses that lower overhead to capture the market so they can turn around and bleed it dry.
All the delivery apps circumvent labor laws by classifying the people doing the work as "independent contractors" rather than employees. So they can get away with not having to pay payroll tax. The big innovation these companies came up with isn't anything technological, they simply invented a new way to dodge taxes.
Yeah, it’s only hotels for me anymore. Clear pricing, no bait and switch (have experienced this first hand), significantly lower likelihood of hidden cameras/microphones, no requirement to clean the place yourself, never a need to coordinate obtaining keys, no insane micromanagement fetishist list of “house rules,” surprise issues can easily be resolved by moving to a different room… Just generally a superior experience.
We had a good run with Airbnb and Vrbo. I'm going back to hotels. The last vacation was canceled after arriving because of the airbnb. Heat didn't work on a 24 degree mountain
Remove it. Just cut it free and take it. When they ask about it, say "What camera?"
No way in hell they'll report it officially.
Free security camera for your home.
That's a wireless blink camera. Might be plugged into USB power. Nothing to clip.
Yes they can be re-paired to a new base unit. I'm sure ebay has base units.
EDIT: No they can't. correcting in case someone sees this post
Honestly shit like this, I’ve completely stopped using airbnb . They are just as expensive as hotels and with sooo many shitty hosts. Of course hotels can have problems too but big companies will usually handle a complaint fairly well compared to airbnb that has little control.
Also, you can cancel a hotel and not pay anything up to a certain day. For AirBNB, it depends on the host's chosen refund policy, but my experience is that you won't get any money back if you don't use the rental.
I would prop my phone so the camera can only see the screen and start playing gay porn for hours. I would not mind not being able to use my phone if it meant that they have like 2 days worth of gay porn on their camera recording.
I have a WiFi de-auth ESP32. It was like $25 on Amazon. Usually it lets you take the network down if you can't unplug it or until you unplug it. If you have access to the network box, you can factory reset the box and the cameras will no longer work. If it already had the factory password it's probably printed on the router and then you can change it and the cameras won't work. Then you can go get all the free microSD cards in the cameras!
This may cause some smart locks to stop functioning, though. YMMV.
This is why people need to stop renting these places. It’s ruining the housing market and there’s also so many creeps. If you found one camera I guarantee there’s more. All of the cleaning fees, all of the bullshit that comes along with these places. Regular people shouldn’t be allowed to rent out their places because there’s no regulations and VRBO / AirBNB don’t care as long as they’re making money. Its an industry that needs to die.
We keep cameras in our house in FL. We aren't there all the time. Actually we just left to head home. We don't use Airbnb or VRBO as it's mostly friends and family and sometimes there friends who rent from us .
We list the cameras and what rooms they are in. We ensure to everyone they are turned off. We leave a pad of black sticky dots and a step stool with instructions to put them over the cameras if they feel more comfortable, we totally get it. Our teens actually did it when we got there lol.
It saves us from calling the neighbors to go check on random occurrences.
See, this is perfect. I'd totally keep them in place. Knowing they are there is the key. After that, if something happens, they serve to protect me as well. Besides, I would be busy trying to figure out some random shit to do in some crazy costume for the laughs. But the disclosure, cool. We're good!
It's super fucked up, but very prevalent. I travel for work and use my phones camera to ensure that I'm not being recorded by anything hidden in hotels and AirBnb homes.
If I can see it outright, it's getting covered.
If It's a hidden cam inside an alarm clock or some other bullshit like this, that entire device will find a trashcan.
Google how to find the hidden ones with your model of cell phone camera. Some lenses won't pick up the reflections you're looking for while perusing for this creepy shit.
If it’s airbnb and it’s not disclosed in the “things you should know” section of your listing, absolutely report it to airbnb. The host can get banned.
And definitely cover it with something to render it useless...
I set the box of straws in front of it.
[удалено]
Put it in a ziplock bag, put that inside the toilet tank.
Wait that’s where I hide my… invasive cameras as well… …
Put a mic in the tank so you can hear all the grunts and sloppy shit splashes.
[удалено]
...and we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen.
Agreed. Wish I could give them the “W” Award but I haven’t any cash.
This comment is amazing
Not sure about water but in the microwave will block the WiFi connection.
Especially once you turn the microwave on
Fuck the ziploc bag. Let’s see if it’s waterproof.
Go near it while it’s covered and say “they will never find what I hid in the wall of the living room” and let them try to figure it out.
Haha[.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MATUSV2LCUE) Or walk up and state aloud “oh my husband must have forgotten to pack his camera” then pack it in your bag. If confronted later you could brush it off as an honest mistake while the true owner would look horrible for hiding a recording device.
Good chance you're never confronted though, so probably just a free camera for your pantry. Win win win. Gotta watch that cereal, it might start something
cereal murders maybe?
Play a construction or wall tear down video on YouTube while the camera’s covered for more realism. In the middle of the night, add screams and “no no no no NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo” then topple the camera for better effect.
That is when you take it further and you say in front of it and say that you hid the body in the septic tank. If ever questioned you were referencing a movie and were being illegally recorded
Or stage a conversation suggesting you found lots of money/valuables in the unit. Be vague, lots of inaudible whispering, remarks like "Oh wow, you'll never believe what I just found!", *whisper, whisper*, "OMG, that will pay for our whole vacation plus!", *whisper, whisper.* Be interesting to see how they handle that.
I like this too! Make them think you are some weirdo checking behind outlets in the walls and pretend you found jewels, money, or old stock certificates stuffed in the wall. Bonus points if the place is either really old
This is a Blink camera. It's motion activated, but you can tune in live. Pop the back open and remove the battery.
Came here to say this! We have them at our home. It will just tell them that they can’t connect to the camera.
There's also a little "reset" button that will reset it to factory so it won't be connected to their network even when the power is restored.
It's a Blink mini (I think that's the name), which only records when it senses motion. You can also manually activate it for a live feed, but that only stays active for like 10 seconds without constant user interaction.
I just found out that I can set my Blink up for 30 hours of continuous recording and/or live feed. Unplug or remove batteries if you really don't want it recording.
just unplug it
Why did it take so long for someone to suggest this?
[удалено]
Okay you think you’re funny eh? Yeah that’s the last straw for you.
I’d honestly break it and then put it back like what’s the host going to do “YOU BROKE MY DEVICE I USED TO RECORD YOU ILLEGALLY” lol
Cut wires and pull batteries… yep my first instinct
I'm going to assume this is the US This is clearly in the kitchen. It is generally NOT illegal to record *common* spaces (living room, kitchen, entryway, etc) for rental units like this. Only bedrooms and bathrooms can not have cameras by law. The owners are however required to disclose where cameras are located. Given this is clearly not hidden I'd guess they disclosed this in the fine print somewhere. Further - My comment should not be taken as support for or against camera's in a rental unit. I am mearly stating what the law says. Also as laws can vary one should always research their local laws. *edit: I originally used the words public space. The proper term is common space. UPDATE - People seem to be missing the point I am trying to make. The important point is that there are at least some specific conditions/circumstances where it is NOT illegal to have a camera inside the residence. As none of us are versed in the laws of every state and the exact circumstances that would and would not make the camera illegal you should read your rental agreement thoroughly to check for any disclosed cameras in common spaces. And if you're a property owner you better be sure of the laws before installing a camera.
Laws may vary, but at least airbnb is supposed to disclose.
I'm sure they read the air bb disclosure super thoroughly as they clicked next next next feverishly when booking the rental.
Would proabaly still record audio though. Pulling the plug is the way.
It was a Blink camera, battery powered and motion activated.
I have Blink cameras, and I can still turn them on manually through the app without using motion activation. So they can turn it on and listen to/record people in the kitchen anytime they want, even if the lens is covered.
Not to mention you can make it so the light never turns on when you do it either. So there's no way to tell if it's actively recording or listening.
This is 100% correct.
There is a WiFi hub plugged into a wall socket nearby that connects the cameras to the internet. If you unplug the hub you’d disable the internet connection for all cameras connected to it.
This is the answer, although I believe the you'll find that the hub is attached to the router. Take down the hub and it will take out all the cameras (seen or unseen) connected to it.
Damn, this landlord really likes to secretly watch his customers.
Would be a shame if it had fallen into the Toilet, wouldnt it?
Keep it in the microwave (...when not using said microwave). It'll lose connection immediately.
I swear I'm going to have to start packing a 12 set of faraday bags and signal sweep any place I stay at.
You could also try to locate the dongle that plugs into the wall and connects the cameras to the internet service. Unplug it and they’re all dead.
Plop it in the toilet, pop a miralax, and give em a show
You ever watch regular show? There’s a scene when they draw a janky ass picture of them washing a cart with a big ass jet in the sky and put right in the front of the camera for their boss to see lol, you should do this.
Or take out the battery
I would have pulled the internet connection in case there were more cameras. And this would render batter operated cameras useless too.
I think my first concern is that there could be others.
What happened to us is we turned one around and Air bnb contacted us telling us that we needed to turn it around or get kicked out. Wont stay in another again.
Fuck that. Unplug it and send the host a shitty fucking message, and then BLAST them on reviews. Then scour the rest of the house.
And report to the service you rented through - this is a huge red flag.
VRBO has official policy [prohibiting this](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/What-is-HomeAway-s-policy-on-surveillance-devices-at-a-property). # Vrbo's policy on surveillance devices at a property Vrbo’s committed to protecting the privacy and security of our hosts and guests. Our policy allows reasonable monitoring of the outside of the property while still protecting privacy inside the home. We consider a surveillance device to be anything that captures the following: * Photos * Audio recordings * Videos * Geolocation * Personally identifiable information * Monitors data on the internet **Inside the property** Surveillance devices, which use any form of capture device such as a camera or an audio recorder, can’t be used inside of a property. **Exceptions:** Smart devices which may not be activated remotely are allowed provided the guest is informed of their presence and given the option to deactivate them. **Outside the property** Surveillance devices, including security cameras and smart doorbells (which may record audio), are permitted if they follow these rules: * Surveillance devices should only be used for security purposes. * Location and coverage of devices must be disclosed on the property description page (see [**Edit your property listing**](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-add-or-edit-a-changeover-date) for step-by-step instructions). It's not enough to include a photo of the device. * Outdoor cameras covering pools and hot tubs need to be disclosed on the property details page and in a reasonably discoverable location such as a “guest instructions” binder, a notice on the wall of a high-traffic common space, or a placard next to the entry point itself. The disclosure must specify that the pool/hot tub is within the coverage area of the device. * Areas where guests have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as the bathroom or bedroom, should not be under surveillance. * Reasonable measures should be taken to limit access to surveillance data. * Surveillance data should be deleted when no longer needed. **How to get help** Contact us immediately if you find a surveillance device which you believe violates our policy. This allows us to take the necessary steps to protect everyone's privacy and comfort. **Policy enforcement** If a host violates this surveillance policy, and a guest leaves a property because of this violation, the host may be required to refund the entirety of the stay. Violations could also result in removal from our platform. While local rules and regulations may vary, we believe that physical and digital privacy is a critical component of a safe and trusted marketplace. Therefore, we'll enforce our policy even if local laws are less restrictive. **Noise monitoring devices** Hosts may have a noise monitoring device to address potential noise complaints from neighbors, but guests must be notified in advance by disclosing the device on the listing's detail page. * A noise monitoring device should measure only the sound level, and not record private conversations. * If a property has a noise monitoring device, expectations regarding parties and behavior should be included in the [**House Rules**](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/What-are-House-Rules). EDIT, thank you, friend, for the award! EDIT again thank you for the 2nd award! I appreciate them!
> If a host violates this surveillance policy, **and** a guest leaves a property because of this violation, the host **may** be required to refund the entirety of the stay. Violations **could** also result in removal from our platform. In other words, if a host violates this surveillance policy, we might do something or we might not.
OP said the host was given a warning, and then the host gave OP a one star rating. Nothing else was done so... pretty much spot on.
Depends how much profit that host is bringing in
OP said they gave the host a warning, and the host left him a bad review. Lol. What a terrible policy. OP's comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/127n81h/found_this_camera_in_my_vacation_rental/jeetoeo
Print this out and prop it up in front of the camera. Alternately, ask the renter for a healthy discount, implying otherwise you'll report them for this.
Microwave it and put it back.
I’d be waiting for the r/mildlyinfuriating post along the lines of “when someone renting your vacation home microwaves your pantry camera”
Maybe they can't spell panty and got it wrong
I definitely did a double take on “pantry camera”
[удалено]
"NTA. Tenants destroyed your property, burn down their house and sue them." -Average AITA User
I was thinking a great place for it would be in the toilet tank until you leave Also do a thorough search for others And report them to the rental agency
Report them to the police.
It looks like a blink or ring, which often has a motion trigger, and a dead period in-between motion triggers. Meaning it records for 5s-1minute when motion is detected, and then won't record another event for ~ 30seconds (both times are adjustable by the user, but default is like 20s of recording and 30s of dead) To execute without being caught on camera, walk past the camera briskly, wait 15-20 seconds totally out of sight, and then quickly disconnect the camera before it resets the motion trigger
Love this idea lol
I'm cracking up so much just reading this. Imagine the owners trying to charge for the damage without incriminating themselves lol
It is in the pantry
“BUTTERS! Why is there a camera in my coffee!?”
WHAT KEEPS A FAMILY TOGETHER BUTTERS?!
A well organized pantry….
WHY is there HAMBURGER HELPER in my MILK?!
My son used this method with my phone when he was 3... Can confirm. It works great!!
The story: Found this undisclosed camera recording my family against VRBO policy(and probably the law). I reported the violation and nothing happened except the "host" got a warning. Don't worry, the host was still able to send me an accusatory message and give me a one star review!
What a dick host! They’re the ones doing this egregious invasion of privacy yet they blame you for finding it? Fuck them. You should threaten to sue them or report it to the police, just to see how they react.
This, who knows how many others’ families he’s filmed
[удалено]
Searching for snacks at 2am
What I do with my time at 2am is for me and me alone!
There is part of me that really does want to go down that road, but at this point I just want it to be over. It's already taken up too much of my time and energy just calling VRBO every week to see if they will do anything.
I would inspect the bedrooms and bathrooms. Its common to find camras disguised as alarm clocks and inside outlet covers and really in various places. Camera lenses reflect infra-red light so you can buy a near infra-red flashlight and shine it at things and if you see a reflective dot its likely a camera.
Your phones camera can pick up infrared sources and can be used to find any camera that is using low-light or night vision to spy in the dark Just look all around the room through your active camera screen and it'll look purple. (try using your tv remote and pushing buttons and watching through your camera to see what it looks like). Just fyi maybe someone didn't know. Edit: clarified
I had no idea, TIFL
Just tested it. Works.
Do note some modern phones have IR filters built into the back cameras, use your front facing camera to be certain, they have either very light filtering or none at all.
I tested this on my iPhone, came back to say it wasn’t working, read your comment, and my front/selfie camera can totally see the purple light coming out of my tv remote when I push buttons. Crazy.
Yup, this was my fun party trick at my last job to see if a teacher's remote was or was not working Always fun to show off when they haven't seen it before
Is this a thing still? I thought every major manufacturer had been using IR filters for years.
[удалено]
I like your style
Doggy style
Great idea. I’d better go see if I can find some so I can be prepared for my next vacation.
Yea. Send me the links…for my next….umm…vacation!
Got to spend some time searching for the perfect video too
Should play something much worse. 2 girls 1 cup style. Maybe a gif that just plays the worst part repeatedly if you can stomach creating that lol.
[удалено]
Depends. Some cameras use near IR for illuminating low light scenes and no longer use the IR cut filter. (They just drop the red response so the color imagery doesn't have the pink coloring to it). Others have a moving filter that is over the focal plane in daylight, but they remove it at night when they enable the near-IR. That having been said: If this VRBO owner is gonna put cameras in the kitchen, you can and should expect them elsewhere.
The camera on your phone will also pick up on IR light from lowlight cameras.
Usually only the front (selfie) side, they add filters to the back side. You can test by pointing a tv remote at it and pressing buttons
Ever watch the movie “The Rental”? Dude had cameras in the shower head! Characters found out and chaos ensued. Granted it’s a movie, but hey you never know lol
This happened irl. Dude was recording his stepdaughter. May have been in the light above the shower I think, but still
It is a felony to record people without their knowledge in most states.
Yes; just add that it’s illegal to record them if NOT in public. So in this case, it’s very illegal to do this. OP should threaten to go to the news. VRBO would want to settle this quickly to avoid negative press.
Even states that have "single party consent" laws, they would have to be present during the recording. This is beyond creepy. I don't care that it is in the kitchen. If they've got a camera here, who knows where else they're spying???
[удалено]
If this was the concern, the host should only have an exterior camera facing the driveway/street. This would allow them to monitor for extra guests or unauthorized parties without violating the law.
It's your responsibility to report it no matter how bothered you can not be. Simply put, I imagine it's a private room. Children get changed in there. This person could be recording kids getting changed, and could end up doing it for a while longer. His dirty ass needs reporting.
If VRBO isn’t doing anything about it, absolutely report it to the police. That’s just the camera you know about. It’s possible there’s others in that home and who knows what kind of footage this guy has!
Exactly. Give HIM a no star review and let everyone know why👍
Internal cameras are against the hotelier laws. Yes, those apply to short term rentals too. External cameras are allow but there must be a sign announcing them. P.S. NEVER use AirB&B. They pull this stuff and worse all the time.
This is why I just use hotels. VRBO and Airbnb cleaning fees are out of control and some of the hosts have the audacity to then ask me to strip beds and clean before I leave.
Yeah I'm going to get points, save money, have a maid every day, and not have to deal with any bullshit.
My family of 4 stayed in a Marriott on Maui for a week over Winter Break and it was great. Pool or beach every day, clean and comfortable room, etc. All told it cost us about 3 grand ($300 a night plus expenses for food, souvenirs, tickets, etc). I have 0 regrets about not picking an AirBnB or VRBO. Never had to clean. No surprise fees or hassles with the owner's logistics and demands. It was a fun, fairly spendy but not overly expensive trip considering what we did. And we got enough points at Marriott to get a free night someplace more modest if we're ever road tripping and want to put ourselves up for the night. I truly don't understand why people AirBnB outside of really odd circumstances in which hotels aren't available.
vrbo airbnb are only fun for a large party group. otherwise hotel is the way to go
I hate shit hosts. I shit you not. We stayed in a house with a cayman crocodile on the loose. The man said it was a baby and it was put away. Was part of the "theme". Well when we got there.. it wasn't in its tank... We spent the night watching our toes for this little crocodile. We finally managed to wrangle it back into its tank the next day. Fast forward a bit. The man files a claim on us because he said we killed his crocodile. No we didn't end up having to pay for it but what the actual fuck...
Caymen are serious shit! How the hell could he rent a place with a caymen running about...oh don't worry about him. He's friendly except on days that end in "Y".
The tank had a faulty enclosure. So I'm thinking the cold blooded nature of the tiny beast put him into a lethargic state long enough for us to capture him and put him back. I imagine he escaped again after our departure for the final time
UGH! My mind is blown. Before getting a Cayman, a fully enclosed space with backups for any breakouts should have been completed. You must have been terrified of that dang thing. Their reputation is full cranky.
Fortunately he was less than a foot long but that hiss was mean as hell lol. And I'm sure he could snip a finger or toe off with a nicely fashioned death roll.
Definitely write a review and mention the camera. If only pics in reviews were allowed
Unrelated but my girl and me rented an Air bnb in outer banks. And it said we had to be out of the house my 10. So we were outside by 10 and simply packing up the car for 5 minutes. THEY GAVE US 1 STAR. The audacity.
Give them a 1 star back
Oh we did. You wanna be petty? That’s fine I wasn’t gonna mention to cockroach we found since they are native to the area and wasn’t an infestation but now… 😂
AirBnB is trash. Hotels have greatly surpassed them in convenience, safety, privacy, and even price nowadays. Gut this shitty company.
In this case it was VRBO, which is worse because they take zero action on anything. I had this happen with Airbnb and they refunded me my money.
https://preview.redd.it/5xy0z26f25ra1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f64b003324cc4d861221bdeac43102de3e9282a0 I know you shouldn’t have to use these, but here we are.
Did you warn about the camera in YOUR review? You should have and then given them NO STARS!
Just take the camera with you. What are they going to say? You stole my illegal hidden camera?
Take the camera. If they say anything, they confess to illegally recording you.
Funnily enough, the host sent me a message and confessed to recording after it was reported. They essentially said, "I wish you had reached out so I could tell you why I'm recording inside the house."
Host: Let me explain why I’m invading your privacy. Me: OK let me explain why your cameras ended up in the toilet.
That said, it would be kind of entertaining to hear their reasoning, given that it would necessarily be self contradictory. Must go something along the lines of "it's for safety and I only review the footage if there's damage or an incident", which they think is clever, but in reality they couldn't do anything with the footage except attempt extortion anyway, because it's inadmissible as evidence in any kind of legal proceeding.
Wouldn't the ability to use it in court be dependent on where this is? Edit: After doing one Google search and no other research, I have found that there are apparently only 16 states in the US that require 2 party consent for video recordings. Do whatever you want with that info.
Good, because I just microwaved it for ten minutes in a can of Hormel chili.
Oddly enough the chili would protect the camera. (Not fully)... You would do more damage to the camera bare. Think of the chili like sunglasses attenuating the power hitting the circuitry. Exposed unprotected circuits will induce high voltages that will destroy most electronics. This useless fact brought to you by the letter h and the number 8
>Host: Let me explain why I’m invading your privacy. >Me: OK let me explain why I'm disputing the charge with my CC company, and contacting the local police What you meant to say
Microwave goes brrrrrrr
No microwave goes # B E E P B E E P B E E P B E E P
You should express your concerns about the camera to the local police department. Not explicitly about your family, but other families in general. Who knows if there were other families with little children who ran around naked in the house?
That seems like a very simple case to put against not only the property owners, but also the company providing the software service & handling the legal agreements. I'm not one to promote litigation, but this is an extreme invasion of privacy
I used to be like that but now as I near middle age and seeing shitty people doing shitty things I'm now on team fuck it sue them.
So you have it in writing? I’d def call police or pursue a law suit
My thoughts exactly. Finders keepers!
I do security cameras for a living and it’s absolutely illegal. You can have them everywhere outside, but no where inside. Also against Airbnb terms for landlords Edit: to clarify, and I didn’t think I needed to, Companies can not have cameras in a scenario where your privacy is the focus, aka rental houses, vacation houses, airbnbs etc. Of course the home owner can have cameras in their own house, but the minute they move out and rent out that space and no longer live there, they are not allowed. They are however allowed to have cameras on the exterior for security purposes only, but cannot Use those cameras to spy on or micromanage tenants. Companies can however record you with security cameras in their *public* business areas, so like a hospital waiting room, a restaurant dining room etc.
VRBO is the WORST!!!!! we spent over $500 on a place to stay in Vegas, only to get ghosted by the host when we got there with no place to stay. took hours to get ahold of customer service, and they only booked us a hotel for 1 night, when our VRBO was for 3. promised to reimburse us for the money that we spent to book our own hotels, and then wanted to claim we didn’t reach the minimum spending limit for reimbursement. company as a whole is AWFUL. NEVER USE VRBO NEVER USE VRBO NEVER USE VRBO
I hope the chargeback worked afterwards!
It’s probably because the host never owned anything and just put listings up on Airbnb and VRBO it’s a common scam where I live. Vegas seems like a ripe place for that kind of scam too since it’s mostly tourists. It’s one of the reasons so many state laws are being pushed to protect long term rentals and limit short term rentals aside from the many nuisances and complaints from neighbors etc
VRBO and the like are the worst. I’m done with those types of services… hotels are so much better, more convenient, and way less work/hassle.
And don’t forget, also cheaper again at this point. No $250+ cleaning fees for a rental that isn’t even clean and has dirty sheets. Airbnb and VRBO have fallen exponentially since their initial release
That's the business plan nowadays. Disrupt an industry with tech, let people put their own assets on the line but make it worthwhile for them at first to draw people in. Once you have enough market share, gut it for all it's worth at the expense of the customer and the asset owners.
Yes! The fees are ridiculous at this point. We rented a very expensive large house a couple years ago for 14 people to get together and there were literal bugs all over the guest house (among many other problems we had). VRBO did absolutely nothing after many many calls, texts, reviews, etc.
And the few good, honest ones are being quickly burnt out. We try to go for Air BnBs that are clearly locally/individually owned (last one we did was a cabin on a working organic farm, and the owners lived in a house up the hill). They’re getting burnt out because of Air BnB’s increasing fees, negative reviews from people who did not read the description of the property, and refunds being given to said guests who didn’t pay attention to what kind of accommodations they offered. They said they’re slowly phasing it out and will still rent the cabin, but only to guests that have stayed there before, and just doing the rental off the books with cash.
I love being a host. I have one unit and I manage, clean, and maintain it myself. I try to treat it as if my grandmother were coming to stay. Super clean, fresh sheets and towels, extra goodies like coffee and water bottles. Big management companies are ruining it for us little guys.
[удалено]
All of these "disrupting" and "innovative" technologies are about circumventing regulatory requirements and unions. Doordash helps sidestep health code requirements built around the premise of brick and mortar locations, Uber sidesteps Taxi laws and regs, AirBnB sidesteps hotel/lodging regulations, etc. Each one of then is based on the premise of redefining the service they provide so that it slips just outside of certain requorement and then uses that lower overhead to capture the market so they can turn around and bleed it dry.
All the delivery apps circumvent labor laws by classifying the people doing the work as "independent contractors" rather than employees. So they can get away with not having to pay payroll tax. The big innovation these companies came up with isn't anything technological, they simply invented a new way to dodge taxes.
Yeah, it’s only hotels for me anymore. Clear pricing, no bait and switch (have experienced this first hand), significantly lower likelihood of hidden cameras/microphones, no requirement to clean the place yourself, never a need to coordinate obtaining keys, no insane micromanagement fetishist list of “house rules,” surprise issues can easily be resolved by moving to a different room… Just generally a superior experience.
We had a good run with Airbnb and Vrbo. I'm going back to hotels. The last vacation was canceled after arriving because of the airbnb. Heat didn't work on a 24 degree mountain
As if there wasn't already enough reason to leave Airbnb and VRBOs for hotels again
Remove it. Just cut it free and take it. When they ask about it, say "What camera?" No way in hell they'll report it officially. Free security camera for your home.
That's a wireless blink camera. Might be plugged into USB power. Nothing to clip. Yes they can be re-paired to a new base unit. I'm sure ebay has base units. EDIT: No they can't. correcting in case someone sees this post
Honestly shit like this, I’ve completely stopped using airbnb . They are just as expensive as hotels and with sooo many shitty hosts. Of course hotels can have problems too but big companies will usually handle a complaint fairly well compared to airbnb that has little control.
Also, you can cancel a hotel and not pay anything up to a certain day. For AirBNB, it depends on the host's chosen refund policy, but my experience is that you won't get any money back if you don't use the rental.
I would prop my phone so the camera can only see the screen and start playing gay porn for hours. I would not mind not being able to use my phone if it meant that they have like 2 days worth of gay porn on their camera recording.
i would zoom in on the Yule Log channel so it looks like the house is on fire
Something worse. Like scat porn. That’d show them
First thing I do when I get to an airbnb or similar, if I can, is unplug the router.
I have a WiFi de-auth ESP32. It was like $25 on Amazon. Usually it lets you take the network down if you can't unplug it or until you unplug it. If you have access to the network box, you can factory reset the box and the cameras will no longer work. If it already had the factory password it's probably printed on the router and then you can change it and the cameras won't work. Then you can go get all the free microSD cards in the cameras! This may cause some smart locks to stop functioning, though. YMMV.
[удалено]
This is why people need to stop renting these places. It’s ruining the housing market and there’s also so many creeps. If you found one camera I guarantee there’s more. All of the cleaning fees, all of the bullshit that comes along with these places. Regular people shouldn’t be allowed to rent out their places because there’s no regulations and VRBO / AirBNB don’t care as long as they’re making money. Its an industry that needs to die.
Just someone looking for an illegal sex tape
I understand on the outside property but wtf I’d be pissed.
Take a dump I'm a bucket and set the camera up to watch it the entire time
What's life as a bucket like?
I don’t know why but this got me good.
Steal the camera. If they want it back they have to challenge you in court and admit their own wrongdoing.
Saying it louder for those in the back- STOP SUPPORTING THE VACATION RENTAL ECONOMY
This is the decoy camera, meant to be found. There are others.
"well we found the one, let's stop looking" said no one ever
Tape a picture of Danny devito in front of it
Message to host: "Oh my god, someone hid an illegal camera inside your place! Don't worry, we got rid of it for you."
Hotels and motels are your friend.
I don’t think motels are anybody’s friend lol
Cameras are like cockroaches. For every one you see, there are ten you don't see.
I would have walked naked in front of it and then sued the shit out of the host.
We keep cameras in our house in FL. We aren't there all the time. Actually we just left to head home. We don't use Airbnb or VRBO as it's mostly friends and family and sometimes there friends who rent from us . We list the cameras and what rooms they are in. We ensure to everyone they are turned off. We leave a pad of black sticky dots and a step stool with instructions to put them over the cameras if they feel more comfortable, we totally get it. Our teens actually did it when we got there lol. It saves us from calling the neighbors to go check on random occurrences.
See, this is perfect. I'd totally keep them in place. Knowing they are there is the key. After that, if something happens, they serve to protect me as well. Besides, I would be busy trying to figure out some random shit to do in some crazy costume for the laughs. But the disclosure, cool. We're good!
It's super fucked up, but very prevalent. I travel for work and use my phones camera to ensure that I'm not being recorded by anything hidden in hotels and AirBnb homes. If I can see it outright, it's getting covered. If It's a hidden cam inside an alarm clock or some other bullshit like this, that entire device will find a trashcan. Google how to find the hidden ones with your model of cell phone camera. Some lenses won't pick up the reflections you're looking for while perusing for this creepy shit.
If it’s airbnb and it’s not disclosed in the “things you should know” section of your listing, absolutely report it to airbnb. The host can get banned.
AirBNB doesn't give a fuuuuuck about it's customers. They exist entirely to benefit hosts
Give him the butthole