There was a news article here in Australia this week about tenants renting a house (without inspecting it first) that had cameras everywhere inside. The owners refused to uninstall them due to their cost but said they were switched off. Tenant noticed the little red light glowing and now there is a dispute. She has placed paper bags over the cameras, secured with rubber bands, so they are blinded. I will remember this hack if ever faced with the same situation, however unlikely as I always ask about cameras during the initial call with the HO before accepting a sit.
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I will never understand people having cameras in their bedrooms. A baby I understand or toddlers (even the latter feels weird to me).
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I am currently on a cat sit and noticed that there is indoor camera pointed towards the cats’ feeder. The homeowner did not disclosed it in her welcome guide or during the video call. What would you do?
- Turn the camera off and report the user to customer support
- Ask the HO to turn the camera off
- Do nothing
2 first, and if any problems, 1.
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When I’ve had that happen I just turned it around/covered/unplugged it. Never heard anything from an owner about it. If I had I would have mentioned that it was against the TOS and figured it was an oversight on their part.
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Thanks @Sunshine_G and @jcvbva
The home owner responded that they “forgot” to disclose the indoor camera. We agreed to turn the camera off.
Had that as well i just covered the camera when i was in the home. And also asked the HO to turn them off. was enough. covering them when in the home was for me enough. The owner had a number of reasons for having a camera in the home ( handicapped cat) so handy to keep an eye on in. cse of anything happening while she was out working so the neighbours could check if anything happened.
Just because you cover it, they can still hear everything if they want. It needs to be disconnected from power to guarantee that it is inactive.
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i was not told there were any inside cameras, or outside for that matter but they are obvious. not fully clothed at night when i let pets in and out. found alexa on shelf partly covered by the plant vines with remote camera enabled. i turned it off. right or wrong?
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@Sarge916 , you may want to let the owners know you turned it off as THS does not permit indoor cameras —in case they weren’t aware.
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@Sarge916 at my most recent sit the owner told me she knew internal cameras were not allowed but that she had external cameras that were still plugged in. I wasn’t sure she was being completely honest about the internal ones being disconnected but I didn’t see any out in the open. If I had found one I would have unplugged it for sure and reported it to the TH support team.
The camera is wrong, and you are right!
You should report this to THS, but frankly, I don’t think they really care.
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Turn the cameras off @Sarge916 & tell the owners you’ve done that and then report the issue to THS too.
I did turn it off. Maybe it was an oversight. Waiting to see if they say anything. I know I have forgotten things or overlooked them. Will talk to them about it when they return in person.
I’m new to this site and appreciate other members pointing out concerns To the OP, so sorry you dealt with such disturbing violations.
I’m on sit #5 and I’ve had three HO point out “no cameras” because I think this is becoming a huge issue. I had one sit that, after confirmation, stated they had an outdoor camera pointed at the front door. Their comment that they were noting “for full transparency” was disturbing since it was not noted in their listing. Really found even an exterior camera disturbing.
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I have a doorbell camera and don’t mention it in my listing. I wouldn’t expect these to be in THS listings as a sitter either. They are so common here in the US that it is almost safer to assume there is one.
I do tell sitters about the doorbell in the video chat and Welcome Guide
@Lassie As a sitter, I think you should mention it in your listing. While I don’t care at all about them, there are people with strong opinions against them and you could weed them out by having it included. Those bothered by them wouldn’t apply and you could save yourself time in the selection process.
Dan
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We have outdoor Ring devices and we disclose them in our listing – right up front so potential sitters know they are there.
We are sitters as well as home owners, and we understand the importance of being honest about this.
While we have an old Alexa inside, we also disclose this and tell sitters that NO audio or video is enabled. We use it for lighting, and to listen to music (since we don’t have a radio or other way to play music). And when our sitters arrive, they know they can unplug the Alexa if they don’t want to play music.
It angers us when we read about home owners being dishonest about cameras.
As sitters (and HOs), we ALWAYS discuss this topic during the video chat prior to confirming a sit.
And as sitters, we will unplug any inside device we suspect is a camera or audio device.
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But how do you know if they really turned the camera off, or didn’t turn it back on ?
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I just checked, and it is listed as one of the amenities, so I do disclose it.