How are cameras good for health??
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I believe she is indicating a liability scenario. Certain countries are big on suing people
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I know. They are not allowed. Sorry I assumed this post was just inquiring about our opinion on the presence of cameras. So was providing my opinion is Iâm okay it in common areas of homes. In addition I work in healthcare and I encourage the use of them for everyone protection.
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In Homecare sadly a lot happens itâs
for protection of everyone. I also use a prime example I was caring for my aunt (medically complex elder) emergency happened 911 was called⌠my cousin noticed I wasnât responding to texts⌠she saw the cameras and was already leaving work heading to meet us at hospital which saved time.
My aunt passed uncle lives alone family still has cameras to ensure he is okay. He has medical alert also but belive me cameras have been a god send for us
Ps I will
Leave out the bad caregivers part and there was a few over the 5 years she had 24 hour care
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Oof, count me out of any environment that is so litigious that I have to sacrifice my right to privacy.
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Sadly itâs not unusual. In the US
No absolute not ok in any scenario on this sitting platform.
If youâre making arrangements outside of the app do whatever you want.
Itâs intrusive, weird and totally inappropriate.
Trusted housesitters needs to start with the first word.
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I think inside cameras is clearly not acceptable, just like in an Airbnb, they arenât allowed and should be reported. Itâs an invasion of space, privacy and human rights.
External for security purposes fair enough or a Ring Doorbell.
But inside is a no-no in my books.
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Ironically, 2/2 of the sits weâve done in the UK have had internal cameras though both times the hosts had no issues turning them off. Also, in the states, its been quite common for an external camera as well. We always just ask beforehand if there are any on the property we should know about, and then ask to turn off any that would make us uncomfortable. (twice theyâve been in the garage, which i donât love either)
Quite a few of my sits in the UK have had outdoor cameras, either the doorbell type or actual cameras fixed to the walls. I think it is quite common now as a security measure. A couple have had indoor cameras to watch the pets. One I was told about, the other not. I unplugged both of them at the socket. I think PPs are generally unaware of the THS stipulation for no indoor cameras - who ever reads all the small print?! And as one lady said, they just forget they are there. One house I went had cameras in their renovated kitchen but they were switched off. So, basically, there are now a good few around in the UK so it is advisable to ask about them.
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I did a house sit in USA and they had external cameras, I also felt I was being monitored as to whether I left the dogs for longer than the 4 hours, I never would, and like you whether I walked the dog at the right time and often enough. Theirs notified them anytime there was movement outside. Itâs certainly a difficult one as I am sure itâs for security but I felt I was being watched.
I have a ring bell and tbh, as a HO, I have it to deter people from taking packages. Most folks probably donât clock it either unless they feel unsafe with the person they picked or if they have control issues.
I personally have also sat in homes with outside cameras and donât mind those as THS allows them as long as theyâre for security- ie outside of porch, garage.
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Nope. Nope. Nope. I donât have these devices in or outside my home and I donât want to live with them when I travel. Interior cameras are an out-and-out invasion of my privacy and violation of THS rules. The more sitters acquiesce to these intrusive devices, the more of them weâll encounter. Interior camera(s) I encounter on a sit will be reported and subsequent sitters will be alerted in the review I leave.
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We have been sitting for a little over a year, all in the US so far, 36 sits on TH and more off ap, and we have found indoor cameras in probably 40% of the places we have sat.
At first I didnât know it was against the rules and I just felt uncomfortable and tried to avoid the areas they were in. Now I just unplug them or turn them to face the wall.
I also unplug Alexa and Google home when I remember to. I do this ever since a couple that we sat for kept texting us answers to our questions like they were a part of our conversation as in I would ask my husband âdoes it say where the electric kettle isâ then I would get a text 5 min later âby the way the electric kettle isâŚâ and that happened too many times to be a coincidence.
I also had a sit where they agreed my kids could come visit and then I woke up to an angry panicky text from the homeowner that I was not allowed to rent out space in their house to other people and realized that they saw my twins on the outdoor camera and thought they were adults.
We cleared that up and they left a good review but I never assume that outdoor cameras arenât being used to spy on me because again and again I have found that they are using them to âcheck upâ on their house and me.
Itâs never that we have something to hide, itâs always uncomfortable though to be reminded that the âtrustâ in trusted housesitters is sometimes really lacking.
I am always reminded of the time
I set up a camera in plain sight when I was 15 on a camping trip and when we reviewed the video, every single girl had unknowingly stopped in front of the camera and pulled their bathing suit wedgies out of their bum crack, including me. Itâs not that we were doing something wrong, itâs just that not everyone wants to be recorded all the time because who knows what embarrassing thing you might do without thinking.
Anyway, my comment is not to disagree but just to point out that in my experience cameras and HO monitoring them for this or that are more common than I would have guessed, in the US.
I feel like the HOâs actually do realize itâs at least straddling the edge of an invasion of privacy because they always make up some other story of why they checked the camera or say their neighbors saw something. If they thought it was all fine, they would just admit they were checking on you.
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I suggest that sitters who feel theyâve been monitored and micromanaged by hosts with outdoor cameras review accordingly, so other sitters can decide whether they want to risk such. Outdoor cameras are allowed by THS for security purposes, not so sitters can be micromanaged. Such hosts â who are crossing the lines â shouldnât be allowed to get away with that, but THS wonât likely be doing anything about that, because they canât be policing all sits.
If anyone finds an indoor camera, I suggest unplugging it and (if you decide to) putting it away, because some models can continue to run on a backup battery, even if unplugged. I wouldnât even mention that to hosts. Thatâs because they either didnât realize THS terms against indoor cameras, or forgot to turn them off, or they knew and ignored the rules and are invading a sitterâs privacy. If you donât mention it and they do, then youâve either caught them in the act or helped them out if they didnât know or forgot.
If they forgot or didnât know, they should apologize, because knowing THS terms and abiding by them are their responsibility. If they donât apologize, at least you get a better sense of whom youâre dealing with. In either scenario, Iâd mention it in my review, so that sitters are on alert in case they want to pursue the sit and they can ask or chance it â their choice.
Personally, I assume that homes have cameras nowadays, given how common they are. In my sitter profile, I have a friendly head-ups for folks who donât know THS terms. I mention that indoor cameras, third-party guests, undisclosed health conditions in pets and aggressive animals arenât allowed by THS. That might turn off some hosts, but Iâd rather such hosts skip me anyway â to me, those hosts arenât reasonable enough to sit for.
By contrast, I have had hosts whoâve clearly read my profile thoroughly and volunteer that theyâll turn off their indoor cameras. And with one sit, they specifically checked whether Iâd be OK with their dog behaving like X and they also let me know that their travel companions would be staying overnight before they all left together on their trip. I didnât have issues with any of that, but the key thing was, I was able to make informed choices, because I was upfront and so were my hosts.
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I recently discovered an undisclosed camera on a house sit in Dublin. I turned the camera around, thinking it was filming by mistake. I woke up to 5 missed calls and hysterical messages from the owner who demanded I turned the camera back around. Why is THS allowing this? She didnât leave me a review although I took excellent care of her house and dog. It was absolutely horrible and thank goodness it was only a 3 day sit. Her outdoor camera and indoor cameras were not disclosed in the listing, her Welcome Guide and her video call. Very dishonest and untrustworthy. I have done 25 sits but this is the only time Iâve ever been spied on. .
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@hellocat
THS donât allow this -the THS policy is clear - any indoor cameras must be disabled during the sit . They are not permitted to remain on and monitoring the sitter .
Have you filed a member dispute so that they can investigate ? If the host refuses to disable the camera for future sits THS can and remove the host from the platform .
THS canât take action unless you inform them and submit the evidence ( screenshots of text messsages etc )
Did you warn future sitters in your review and mark down the rating for accuracy of listing ?
Please report back on the outcome .
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Not to be a bummer but dont forget Alexa. We had a sit one time where we agreed no indoor camaras and every night the one in the living room activated..we didnt really know what that meant ..we were just sitting around so decided to not mention it but we later realized that the whole home was run by Alexa and we wondered if they were also listening with that? This was a few years ago before this was a topic addressed so directly by THS but we didnt really understand that there is also audio. We now are careful what we discuss in homes ie if we think the sofa is ugly we wait for the coffee shop to talk about it!!
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We are HOs and do not, not, not have any indoor cameras and say so in our listing.
We do, however, have Alexa for controlling lights and listening to music. In our listing, we clearly state sitters can choose to have them off, unplugged.
Which many do. And thatâs fine.
But we have never, ever listened in and frankly, we donât know how to. I guess some people could use them as intercoms or whatever, but not us.
We bring this up during the video chats.
So, please do not generalize that any HO that has Alexa is using it to listen in.
We are sitters, too, and we discuss this with potential HOs. No way will we accept indoor cameras or listening devices. And if we find them upon arrival, those dang things are going into a closet! LOL 
And⌠we will mention the facts in our review.
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Point taken about the Alexa, at the end of the day we are going into someones home and just have to hope that they respect our privacy and I belive that for the most part people do.
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