Airbnb Has a Hidden-Camera Problem

[dalton99a]

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/what-happens-when-you-find-cameras-your-airbnb/585007/

Airbnb Has a Hidden-Camera Problem
The home-rental start-up says it’s cracking down on hosts who record guests. Is it doing enough?
Sidney Fussell
Mar 26, 2019

When Max Vest shook hands with the host of his Miami Airbnb back in January, the man introduced himself as Ralph—even though “Ray” was the name he’d used in all their prior communication.

This was the first and only indication that something was wrong. But his host had a great rating on the home-sharing site, and many of the comments mentioned how friendly and accommodating he was. So Vest, a children’s-camp director from Gainesville, Florida, didn’t think much of the discrepancy and settled into the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment he’d be sharing with Ralph—or was it Ray?—and his girlfriend for the next five days. At about 8 or 9 p.m., he went out for dinner; by the time he got home, his hosts had gone to bed in the room adjacent to his, and he prepared to do the same.

That was when he saw the light. Two small, black, rectangular boxes were stacked next to an outlet on the far side of the guest room, both facing the bed. From afar, they looked like phone chargers. But when Vest got closer, he realized they were cameras, and they were recording.

He quickly got dressed, grabbed his belongings, and pocketed the cameras’ memory cards as evidence. Then panic set in: It was almost midnight, and he was alone in the home of someone whose name he didn’t even know, apparently being recorded. What’s more, his host could have been watching as he discovered the cameras.

[safeinOhio]

1. Just think of the fun you could have.

The guy watching the camera as the police walk in and over to the camera. Priceless.

[customerserviceguy]

2. This is one of the many reasons

that I would never use AirBNB. No legitimate hotel could stay in business if it came out that it was recording video on guests in areas that were not ordinary security zones (parking lot, pool, hallways, etc.)

I'm sure there's a porn channel out there on the dark Web where you can watch AirBNB guests, marketed as "amateur" porn. If you've ever stayed in an AirBNB with your significant other and did what people do on vacation, you might be in that video.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. +1000s

n/t

[mr_lebowski]

4. Although I'm sure there's shadiness as a cause for this problem

I would bet that people wanting to keep an eye on their property is the reason for the large majority of cameras in BnB's.

[MaryMagdaline]

5. Yikes