I’m wondering if anyone else has had this experience. At a recent house sit I discovered, after a few days, that I was being watched in real time by the owners.
I do think there needs to be a policy about informing sitters if they are being watched or recorded. I at least would like to know not to make my morning coffee without being fully dressed!
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How did you find out?
Did you report the listing?
Did you put this in your review?
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@Pepper40 whoah!!! Internal cameras are strictly forbidden under the terms and conditions. There are many threads on this forum about them. If the home owners refuse to turn them off or complain if you do, report them to THS immediately to step in.
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Internal cameras?! That’s completely unacceptable. Contact THS as soon as possible. I’d end the sit once the pets safety and care were seen to.
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The owners mentioned that they had seen the cats enter the house, so I guessed there might be more cameras. I looked for them and turned those I found to face the wall.
If the cameras had been newer and therefore much smaller, I would never have found them
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@Pepper40 if you have already finished the sit you can still informed member services . They will remind the homeowner of the code of conduct ( that no internal cameras are permitted to be on during the sit ) and going forward hopefully no other sitter will be put in the same situation.
Did you mention it in your review?
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Hi @Pepper40 and welcome to the Forum.
You might also want to take a look at these other threads where this has been discussed before.
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Internal surveillance is not allowed. External cameras are but an owner who tracks what you do is a creep and should be kicked off THS in my opinion.
If they they have internal cameras I suggest you leave. Like seriously get out of there. Give them 4 hours notice to get a paid sitter in and go.
If they are tracking you on external cameras I would personally still leave.
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Sitters Beware of the coat hooks !
There was a news article yesterday about Amazon selling spy cameras that look like ordinary coat hooks, alarm clocks, USB chargers 
In a very recent HS, the owner had GPS trackers on the dogs and a Ring CCTV camera in the kitchen diner, probably to keep an eye on the hounds whilst they were away from their house… I switched the camera OFF!
They gave me access to the Tractiv GPS App, gust in case one of the dogs ran off. but, this gave alarms to the HO every time either of the dogs left the home ‘safe zone’. This meant that they were aware of when you did or did not take the dogs out… it was a little odd, but fortunately I am a great walker, so no real worries from my site.
It’s pretty normal for those in urban settings to have exterior cameras as part of their security system. Wouldn’t make sense to turn those off when the sitter is there.
Interior cameras are unacceptable.
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@Pepper40 As others have asked, did you include facts about this in your review?
No, I did not report it in any way as I was unaware of the THS policy on this. I am relieved THS forbids internal cameras but I think it is difficult to enforce given that, as some people have mentioned, the cameras are so small and disguised
Normally, they would not be small or disguised. Normal cameras have an LED to show that they are on. And most indoor cameras are for keeping an eye on the pets, which is what the HOs now have a sitter for.
Here is a useful video on how to find hidden cameras
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This is good to know. I didn’t realize this and have done two sits that have had cameras. They were short, local sits and there weren’t real strict expectations. I got good reviews but it was uncomfortable knowing I was being watched and/or recorded. Obviously I need to go back review the policies.
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