A US woman was shocked to find her Airbnb host had left a hidden camera in her rental apartment.
Texas-based Brittany Walsh posted a video showing the centimetres-wide device - about the size of a ping-pong ball - she’d found plugged into the wall in her vacation home.
As well as finding a hidden camera in the holiday apartment living room, she also found one in the property’s bathroom.
“Someone’s boutta catch a felony for invasive visual recording in our Airbnb bathroom,” she captioned the video, which was posted four days ago.
Her video shows local police arriving to record the hidden device.
The 25-year-old teacher, who appears to have been staying in Austin at the time, gave more information in the comments.
“Looked like a plug…the camera part wasn’t obvious. We didn’t think anything of it for a while.”
She also explained why she had called local police.
“It’s a felony in Texas. And against Airbnb’s policy. It’s on their website of what they do and don’t allow in regard to cameras,” wrote Ms Walsh.
“A person commits an offense if, without the other person’s consent and with intent to invade the privacy of the other person, the person… photographs or by videotape or other electronic means records, broadcasts, or transmits a visual image of another in a bathroom or changing room,” reads the Texas Penal Code.
While Airbnb does allow landlord cameras in rental properties in some circumstances, they have to be clearly disclosed and appear in common areas - essentially, not the bathroom.
“To help provide hosts and guests with peace of mind, security measures, such as security cameras and noise-monitoring devices, are allowed as long as they are clearly disclosed in the listing description and don’t infringe on another person’s privacy. Rules about devices apply to all cameras, recording devices, smart devices, and monitoring devices,” reads the home-sharing platform’s policy.
Some followers reported similar creepy experiences while renting apartments.
“I literally changed my clothes in a dark Airbnb closet the one time I stayed in one cause of this,” wrote Kylie Boling.
“The one in Alaska I stayed at had one in the [living room] which was next to the hot tub. I didn’t know and my whole family changed there,” wrote a user named Trish.
“I clean rental cabins in the Gatlinburg, TN area. There are cameras all over those cabins where they are not supposed to be!” added Tiffany Shepherd.
“Airbnb strictly prohibits ‘hidden cameras’ as well as recording devices of any kind in private spaces such as bathrooms and bedrooms,” a company spokesperson told Newsweek.
“We take this allegation extremely seriously and our dedicated Safety team is thoroughly investigating.”
An Airbnb spokesperson said: “Airbnb strictly prohibits “hidden cameras” as well as recording devices of any kind in private spaces such as bathrooms and bedrooms. We take this allegation extremely seriously and our dedicated Safety team is thoroughly investigating.”
