Hi everyone,
I’ve noticed quite a few people on the forum raising concerns recently about indoor cameras—whether they’ve discovered them during a sit or are just worried they might be there. It seems to be something a lot of us are thinking about, especially with more smart devices in homes these days.
I had an experience myself where I found an indoor camera partway through a sit. In that case, I believe it was a genuine oversight by the owners, so I won’t go into any details here. But it definitely made me more conscious of how important this issue is for sitter comfort and privacy.
I’ve just emailed TrustedHousesitters support to ask what they’re doing to ensure homeowners are fully aware of the no-indoor-camera policy and whether they plan to take any further steps to protect sitters. I’ll share their response here once I hear back.
In the meantime, I asked ChatGPT for suggestions on how to check for cameras and what to do if you find one. Here’s a summary of the tips in case they’re helpful to anyone else:
1. Scan the Wi-Fi Network with an App
Apps like Fing (iOS/Android) show all devices connected to the home’s Wi-Fi. Look for unfamiliar devices or anything labeled as cameras.
2. Use Your Phone’s Camera to Spot Infrared
In a dark room, some hidden cameras with night vision emit infrared light. Your phone’s camera (especially the front-facing one) might pick up glowing white or red dots you can’t see with the naked eye.
3. Use a Camera Detector or RF Scanner
These handheld tools can detect hidden lenses or wireless signals. You can find affordable ones online.
4. Trust Your Gut & Do a Visual Sweep
Look closely at everyday items like smoke detectors, clocks, or picture frames—especially anything aimed at beds, desks, or seating areas.
If You Find a Camera
- Don’t unplug or tamper with it immediately
- Take a photo or video for your own record
- Contact THS Support for advice
- Only raise it with the owner if you feel comfortable doing so
Hope this helps others feel a bit more informed. I’ll follow up once I hear back from the THS support team.
Best,
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Thank you for the tips.
Are cameras more common in some countries/locations than others? I live in the UK and I do not know anyone who has indoor cameras. It’s not something I ever think about when booking a sit but I think I must be very naive. 
My sit where the camera was was in the UK. I was also naive and never thought about that prior to my first sit and now i’m realising how common indoor cameras are.
My internal camera experiences have happened in the U.K. and later the U.S. The hosts were aboveboard, though. And I’ve encountered external cameras in the U.K. and U.S. At one U.K. sit, the home had previously been burglarized.
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Out of curiosity, I just googled:
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When you say the hosts were aboveboard, do you mean they told you before you confirmed the sit ? Did they tell you where all the cameras were? I personally don’t want to be filmed while I go about my day to day life plus i work while I sit and have business conversations that are confidential (as many sitters do) so would never agree to a sit if they won’t turn off the cameras.
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Great tips. As cameras become more and more accessible and cheap this issue is going to raise its head over and over again and while the “I would never ruin my holiday looking at the camera feed” response is often highlighted unfortunately human nature often wins out. I think another tip here is to broach the subject of cameras at the video call stage and make it VERY clear that you find it a deal breaker. That’s what we do now after being (non maliciously) micro managed on a sit.
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One home had a cat video camera, which had a green light when active. The hosts told me about that and I was fine with them trying to watch their cat on his preferred window sill. I would be in the shot if in that room (a combo living and dining room). Most of the time, the cat wanted to hang out with me in the guest room / office. The cat had nearly died of colitis about a year earlier and the hosts were going away for their first extended vacation since. They were anxious. They told me about the camera during our video chat.
The other home had a built in video camera connected with the alarm system — some older homes still have those from days before Ring cameras and such. It would activate if the alarm system were on, covering the kitchen and dining area. I of course was in those spaces daily, but the hosts didn’t care if I ever activated the alarm. I never did and assumed the camera was off. If they wanted to watch me in the kitchen, I wouldn’t have cared. But I doubt they did. They told me exactly where the camera was once I arrived.
i agree. i find it uncomfortable to discuss, though, and don’t know how to bring it up in a firm but still friendly manner.
Personally, I include THS dealbreakers as a friendly heads up toward the end of my sitter profile. Like I refer to no internal cameras, no third parties during my sit, no aggressive pets. I know my hosts have read that, because they’ve asked or mentioned such.
If that puts off some hosts, I think that’s a good thing, because I want to sit for only reasonable hosts.
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it’s obviously better that they are transparent about it, but the thing is, it is against the THS policy. plus the living/dining area is personally where i tend to spend most of the time (bedrooms don’t always have a desk for remote work and plus that way i can be with the pets all day). and even if i’m just chilling in the sitting room, i don’t want to be filmed. i’d rather just stay home lol. i didn’t know about alarm systems being connected to cameras, but to be honest i can think of no good reason to leave a camera or alarm system running in a house that’s occupied (ok maybe at night) and I would never expect a sitter to have to put up with this.
This is our script. After we ask about the pets requirements we say. “Do you happen to have any indoor or outdoor cameras? I ask because we did a sit recently where the home owner commented on our comings and goings. It was nothing malicious but it made us feel very uncomfortable so we don’t accept sits anymore where there are cameras” Hope that helps.
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thank you this is very useful
really good idea thanks i’m going to edit my profile to include that information
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