I was staying in a house that has cameras installed inside. I don’t know about the ones that aren’t visible, but I can clearly see two of them. I already know that the owner is recording; this came to light accidentally through an innocuous request on his part—one that immediately made it clear he is monitoring everything happening inside the house. Before this discovery (and I am the only person in the house), I used to feel comfortable walking out of the shower completely undressed. Is that even a normal thing to do? On top of everything else, it is about 35C outside, yet he remotely sets the air conditioning to 26 Celsius (80F). I don’t know anyone in the world who would set their home thermostat to that temperature; you would simply be stifling to death without the AC running. I manually adjust it back down to 23 degrees Celsius (74F). But every single time, he changes it back—sometimes in the middle of the night (since he is in a different time zone)—and I end up waking up simply because of the heat.
No one will say that yes, this is normal.
I hope you will be able to resolve this, or leave, or won’t be there much longer at least.
Indoor cameras are strictly prohibited per the terms of THS. So you have every right to ask him to turn them off, or turn them off yourself if possible and inform him of this rule. It would also be grounds to leave the sit.
As for the remote monitoring of the temperature, you can either discuss the settings with him, letting him know it is too warm for you, and asking for it to be set lower or you just have to deal with his micromanaging of it if you are uncomfortable broaching the subject. There is nothing in the terms that would prohibit him from doing something like that, and this is the sort of thing that sitters and hosts would need to discuss between themselves.
I am sorry about that…there have been threads here where sitters have run into issues with hosts who are very restrictive in their energy use, making for uncomfortable experiences . I personally have not run into anyone who monitors it remotely, and I don’t think it is all that common luckily.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!
I suggest sending a message through the THS message system to get this on record in case things go sideways. Message them in a non confronttional but direct manner re the cameras (turn them off immediately or you can choose to end the sit), and explain your comfort regarding the thermostat and what you need to be able to sleep during the night and what day time temp you prefer. Hopefully you can work this all out if you are otherwise enjoying the pets, location, home. Sorry this is where things are at for you currently. Super inappropriate regarding the cameras and selfish on the thermostat. I want to add that some thermostats are programmed and keep reverting back to that even if you manually change it. you might need their help to fix it for your comfort.
no not normal and not acceptable for inside cameras without upfront disclosure. Here is where you can read the actual THS rules on it. Camera and Recording Devices Policy | TrustedHousesitters.com
It seems you are unaware that indoor cameras are not permitted.
I’m sorry, but if this person has been watching/monitoring you without your knowledge and consent, I’d say this has crossed over into a criminal offense. Please tell me that it’s not a video monitor.
Are they now turned off?
the camera is working. I actually started thinking about cameras yesterday because of some seemingly harmless requests he sent me—things like closing a door here, or doing something else there. So I started looking around and spotted them tucked away in dark corners—areas I never actually go into—yet those very alcoves offer a clear line of sight to the hallway, the laundry room entrance, and the doorway to my own room. And that’s just what I’ve noticed so far.
Thank you to everyone who posted in this thread. I suspected that this wasn’t allowed. In any case, it was certainly very unsettling to realize that I had occasionally walked around in front of the camera in my underwear (or even nude). The pet itself is charming, and we’ve already bonded; I’ve also had a lot of necessary supplies delivered to the address, so it feels a bit awkward to just pack up and leave now. However, I will follow your advice and reach out to the host via the chat feature on the website. Sometimes I just feel incredibly awkward doing things like this—only to realize later that, apparently, they felt it was perfectly fine to treat me that way…
Can you cover the cameras? If the owners objects, refer him to the the ruling on no indoor cameras permitted.
NO.
This needs to be reported to THS immediately and has possible legal ramifications (Consider that you have no idea what the HO is doing with the images he’s gathering).
Your description of the abundance of cameras sounds like a very very serious concern and I, for one, would be out of there asap after ensuring that the animals were safe & cared for and that THS has evidence (pics or every camera you find + descriptions).
This is wrong on every level and, tbh, very, very creepy.
Cover them, turn them or otherwise obscure them (without damaging them, of course).
This is the best answer so far and I completely agree with you!
I say this with respect for you :
This “…feel incredibly awkward doing things like this…” is , sadly , common amongst women especially young women.
Please stand up for yourself regardless of the awkwardness, the fear that you might “offend” someone , hurt their feelings or otherwise “make” them feel wronged.
Their feelings are irrelevant.
Your safety, security and rights to not be filmed without your consent are the priorities. Period.
You are the one who is being taken advantage of here and you are the one whose safety, security and privacy are being violated.
I hope that this gets resolved quickly and safely.
Actually this is really giving me the creeps. I have seen sits specifically requesting female sitters. I get it if the host is female, but if not then why? @ariela you should not feel awkward or embarrassed, the host should feel ashamed for putting you in this position. Be careful and proactive.
@ariela, this is totally wrong and wholly against THS Terms of Service. Suspect in some countries it would be deemed voyeurism and suffer nasty legal consequences.
Encourage contact THS Member Services (via website, phone or support@trustedhousesitters.com). Suggest take photos of the cameras (evidence) then immediately cover any visible cameras. Suggest contact host to request location, and disablement, of any further internal cameras or recording devices.
Should issue not be resolved to your satisfaction then consider giving host fair notice (24 hours) and leave property. Privacy invasion.
THS has a process to report significant breaches of Terms - it’s called Member Dispute. Details below. THS staff collect information/evidence; assess situation; action as appropriate.
If a male host was specifically requesting female sitters that would be a major red flag for me
If you do stay to the end of the sit, and it sounds like you may, do ensure that you take measures as suggested to cover the cameras or turn them to the wall. Presumably you will be contacting THS as advised about this man’s actions so that hopefully he won’t be allowed to use the platform in future. However, we can’t be sure THS will take such action so you must definitely write in your review what has been happening which should then put off any other sitters applying in future.
Your images could be all over the internet by now, creeps like that should be removed from THS at once, police should be notified and I would leave the house at once. This is not an innocent accidental issue
Hi @ariela
I’m so sorry to hear about this, it’s absolutely not ok to have active internal cameras while you’re on a sit. Have you managed to reach out to the owner yet?
I have sent you a DM too, just to confirm how THS can support you.
Jenny
I think you should leave the sit immediately, informing the owner (& THS) that is what you are doing and why.
I wouldn’t worry about the pets, they are no longer your responsibility. The owner will (should) have an emergency back up plan in place.
Even if you were to ask the owner the location of the cameras, you can’t trust that he will disclose all of them. If you tell him to disable them, you can’t trust him to do so.
Your safety is the priority here, nothing else.
Yeah @Smiley it was a big red flag to me, he had about 5 reviews from females though 