The ten minutes after
Found something? Do this, in order
The instinct is to grab it, unplug it, or march to the front desk. Slow down — the order protects both your privacy and your ability to hold someone accountable.
The six steps
- Don't touch it, unplug it, or move it. It's potential evidence. Investigators have pulled fingerprints and memory cards full of dated footage from devices left in place. Yanking it destroys that.
- Cover your exposed sightlines right now. Drape a towel over it, or move yourself and your things out of its view. Privacy back immediately, evidence undisturbed.
- Photograph it in place. Wide first, then close — where it is, what it's aimed at, and a shot from the bed or doorway showing what the lens could see. Photos carry timestamps; that timeline is worth having.
- Write down the timeline while it's fresh. When you arrived, when you found it, who you told, what they said. Five sentences in your notes app.
- Report it in writing, in the app — so there's a record. If you feel unsafe or the placement is egregious (a bathroom, a bedroom), contact local police and let them handle the device.
- Then relocate, and keep everything — photos, messages, case numbers.
Why not just confront the host?
Because you don't know who you're dealing with, and a confrontation escalates a situation you'd rather document and exit calmly. It also warns them — and a warned host removes the device before anyone official sees it.
Not sure it's a camera?
That's the common case. Cover the sightline, photograph it, and ask the host a neutral question in writing: "What's this device on the shelf in the bedroom?" The answer — and how fast it comes — tells you a great deal. A host with nothing to hide answers in a sentence.
Your rights, in one paragraph
A hidden camera in a bedroom or bathroom is a crime essentially everywhere in the U.S. — state voyeurism and unlawful-surveillance statutes are what prosecutors typically use, and if the device recorded audio, wiretap law often makes it more serious. Platform policy is separate and faster: Airbnb has banned all indoor cameras since April 2024, and reporting a breach can get you moved and refunded the same day. You don't need to know which statute applies — that's the police department's job, but if you want to read it yourself, see the actual law in your state. Your job is to preserve the scene and report. Full breakdown — federal law, wiretap rules, civil claims — on the full rights primer. (General information, not legal advice.)
The book’s legal primer covers all of this state of play in plain English. The complete system — every check on this site plus the ten-minute walkthrough, audio devices, your legal rights, and what to do if you find something. 47 printable pages, instant download, keep it on any device.