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- Renting an Airbnb comes with its share of risks, including the possibility that you're being monitored by your host using a hidden camera.
- The practice of using hidden cameras is somewhat widespread - a recent report showed that thousands of Airbnb hosts were using closed Facebook groups to gossip about tenants and share security camera footage of them.
- A cybersecurity expert has identified a simple trick anyone can use to find out whether your Airbnb host is monitoring you from afar, and shared the technique with Business Insider.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Renting an Airbnb can be unpredictable - unlike hotels or long-term rentals, Airbnbs are managed by individual users and are largely unregulated.
Privacy-minded renters might worry about the possibility that their host is watching them discreetly using security cameras. The concern is well-founded - a recent report showed that thousands of Airbnb hosts were gathering in closed Facebook groups to gossip about guests and share embarrassing photos captured by security cameras.
Airbnb's community standards bar hosts from sharing guests' personal information, but don't stop hosts from monitoring their units with live feeds streamed by security cameras. And while most states have laws against secretly recording people, those wouldn't prevent hosts from monitoring their homes secretly without sharing the footage.
Internet-enabled security cameras are easy to find and relatively cheap, potentially allowing Airbnb hosts to watch a livestream of their unit on a phone or computer while they're away.
Alex Heid, chief research and development officer at SecurityScorecard, has developed a simple method for detecting whether an Airbnb host is watching guests live on a hidden camera. Heid shared the technique with Business Insider, as well as backup tricks to detect the hidden cameras.
Here's how to find out if your Airbnb host is discreetly watching you on a live security camera.