An Airbnb-Revisited Privacy Policy and How to Find Hidden Cameras On TikTok, with a Comment from Klosowski
The new rules also require hosts to disclose to guests whether they are using noise decibel monitors or outdoor cameras before guests book. After Airbnb instituted a party ban and employed new anti-party tech to try to prevent revelers from booking on its site, some hosts began using both to monitor properties for parties that continued to bring noise, damage, and danger. Airbnb prohibits hosts from using outdoor cameras to track indoor spaces, and bars them from certain outdoor areas where there’s a greater expectation of privacy.
The revised policy — which takes effect on April 30 — also includes more thorough rules on the use of outdoor security cameras and other devices such as noise decibel monitors, which are required to be disclosed before guests book.
A whole page is devoted to showing users how to find hidden cameras on TikTok. Marcus Hutchins’ video has over five million views.
Hutchins advises people to look for things that are not real, and shine a light on them. “If you hit a camera lens, it’s going to give a blue-ish reflection,” he said.
In a 2022 interview with NPR, Thorin Klosowski — who at the time was privacy and security editor at Wirecutter — also recommends unplugging “anything that looks kind of fishy, whether that’s an alarm clock or just a USB plug that seems random in the wall.”
The Airbnb Monitoring Group: Rejoind to AirBnb about the Measurement and Surveillance of Rental-Located Devices
The group that serves those who have been targeted by the government released a statement on Monday welcoming the ban.
“No one should have to worry about being recorded in a rental, whether the bedroom, the living room, or a hall,” said Albert Fox Cahn, the group’s executive director. “Getting rid of these cameras is a clear win for privacy and safety, and we know that these recording devices are ripe for abuse.”
Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the surveillance technology oversight project, says that they are grateful thatAirbnb listened to them and put safety and privacy first.
