I’m curious how much privacy you expect on a sit, if you’ve ever suspected that you’re being surveilled, and if so, how you go about addressing it, if at all…
I’ve been doing these sits for a couple years now, and have a few anecdotes…
The first sit I ever did, I was eager to accept whatever I was offered. The sit ended up being great…but I did notice there was an indoor camera on the alarm system box next to the front door (which goes against TH policy right?). I didn’t complain about it or try to cover it up. Probably all the would be visible on it was part of the kitchen and the living room. I didn’t mention it in the review because overall it was a good sit and thought I might want to do it again. Would that creep you out? No other reviewers mentioned it either and this sit has lots of 5 star reviews. Would you mention it in the review? Would you just slip a piece of tape over it? Would you look for other cameras?
I’ve also done sits where I’ve wondered if the hosts are having a person check up on things, without directly saying so. For example, one sit, I randomly got a text one morning that a friend of theirs wanted to know if he could come by and use the washing machine because he just got back from a trip and his was broken. So of course I felt obligated to say he could, but I mentioned I had a lot of work to do that day, so would prefer no interruptions until evening - somewhat hoping that he would find another solution. But he chose to come do his laundry in the evening. He explained to me that he was a retired computer scientist and obviously had plenty of money, he didn’t live super close, so it didn’t seem particularly convenient… and therefore struck me as really odd to asked to come by and do laundry when his friends were out of town and a complete stranger would be there. It was a town with a really nice laundromat he could have easily gone to.
Most recently, I did a sit where the host’s landlords make unannounced visits tending to their shed outside, right next to the house, unexpectedly entering the gated yard. This exists in a real gray area… they’re not coming in the house, but they’re entering the gated yard and getting very close to the house. And again, it’s not the host, it’s the host’s landlords. The first time I saw them (a couple), I was just sitting on the couch working on my laptop, and I look up and see a man’s face seemingly looking right in the window as he’s leaving (though he says he wasn’t intentionally trying to look in, and probably wasn’t). Am I being uptight in being annoyed by this, or do you feel like sitters have a right to expect privacy? I guess personally, I find that sort of thing very disruptive, because I’ve lived in cities where I’ve had bikes stolen off my porch, and I had a very nice e-bike at this sit. So it triggers that part of my brain to randomly hear someone show up in the yard unannounced - really distracting from work. And I also just don’t like the feeling that someone’s watching me? But then if I complain too much, I worry I sound suspicious like I must have something to hide.
You’re rather passive when it comes to standing up for yourself, and that leaves you vulnerable to being taken advantage of.
It would have been in your best interests to mention that the camera is a breach of the THS Terms, and disable or cover it up if the host is not responsive. Sure, anytime you challenge a host you’re looking at the possibility of a retaliatory review but you can’t live in fear.
Same thing with the neighbor. Consider using this term when you’re asked to do something unreasonable, or out of your comfort zone: “I’m sorry that’s just not something I do”, and leave it at that.
As far as the people coming by your property, how about you walk outside and say “Can I help you?” in a firm tone rather than just sitting there and thinking they probably don’t mean any harm.
Thinking you’re “complaining too much” or “sounding suspicious” when your boundaries are clearly being violated may be a reflection of your own insecurities and you might want to speak with someone about this.
I was on a sit with internal cameras. I asked about them and they assured me they weren’t operational. I covered all of them, as they seemed operational to me.
Well, “living in fear” sounds really dramatic to me. Do I find surveillancey stuff kinda annoying? Yes, but it’s more about comfort, self-consciousness (that comes with feeling like you’re being watched), and privacy than fear…I guess I’m just not such a fearful person that I feel unsafe. There is some fear in the sense that some of the discomfort probably comes from a primal safety response.
And I don’t see it as me being taken advantage of…I make decisions that will maximize my advantage!
This whole system is an economy of trust. If you understand it to be that, you can think a few moves ahead in the chess game.
So in the first example - I notice an indoor camera. It’s not that I’m doing anything sketchy, but it bothers me because it signals distrust on the host’s part, and makes me feel self-conscious. What are my options? Place a piece of tape over the camera or text the host and complain. Either produces the result of making that space more private, at the expense of creating more distrust in the mind of a host that is probably already somewhat distrustful given they have a camera. If I signal that I don’t trust them, they will trust me less. Distrust breeds distrust, and the reality is your only true power in these situations comes from trust. They can find ways of surveilling you if they want to. Maybe then they’ll activate even more annoying methods of surveillance like sending a friend over etc. So would those options truly make me less fearful or make the situation less exploitative towards me? I don’t think so.
The third option would be do nothing at all and that’s what I did. If I know where the camera is, and it’s a big enough house that there’s plenty of other space, then why worry about that one area? The way I see it, the more they trust me, the more power I have, and the less I’m being taken advantage of.
After that first sit, they were so happy with the sit that they kept asking me to do other ones. So when I finally wanted to visit that city again, I said, “well, I mostly pick up sits that allow use of cars these days” and they trusted me so much that they let me use their super nice car for the entire sit that they’d never let another sitter use. I imagine it could have had something to do with me being one of the only sitters that probably didn’t cover that camera or say anything about it.
@cat-astrophe, welcome to THS Forum.
You raise a great point and note a couple of years housesitting experience.
Yep. We suspect that some form of informal feedback to pet parents is common. Quite a few of our pet parents have cleaners - that continue to clean during housesit. We’re totally ok with that but suspect feedback loop to pet parent. We engage positively with neighbours. And smart doorbells seem very popular. But the situation you describe seems rather extreme. Remember you can always say no.
We’ve also had various conversations about cameras. THS Camera & Recording Devices policy is surprisingly unspecific on scope of devices - only in terms of external vs internal location. Our approach is to ask Pet Parents during handover; to disconnect internal cameras & recording devices (that we interpret to include Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomePod, etc) during housesit; and to assess the direction of external cameras.
We have nothing to hide and respect external property security but we also seek personal privacy.
If you have a related challenge - which is totally within THS Terms of Service - then just politely ask them to return after the housesit has completed.
As a host, I doubt that. You are probably just a great sitter for them.
For all the anxiety cameras induce in sitters, it’s a rare host who has time or actually cares to keep an eye on their sitter. I would say hosts are generally and justifiably interested in your comings and goings but outdoor cameras are adequate for that. There’s going to be the occasional, anxiety-motivated stickybeak but they have no reasonable expectation that internal cameras won’t be disabled by a sitter. Obvious indoor cameras or sensors aren’t exactly brilliant for spying (hidden indoor cameras are entirely a different matter).
FWIW, if the sit is in the US in nicer homes, be aware that interior cameras and active sensors are increasingly being required of homeowners by their insurance companies. No security system = no coverage. Our home bristles with indoor sensors these days.
I kind of just feel like there should be some standardized process for the host checking on how well the sitter’s are doing. Of course they want to know!
I totally get from the host’s perspective wanting to check on things - I mean, having strangers live in your home and take care of your pets - of course it’s natural to want to feel secure they’re doing a good job.
But the covert checks really creeps me out and I find extremely annoying.
Like I would much prefer if there was just a standardized - “okay, a friend’s going to come by and check how you’re doing” kind of thing, rather than fabricated stories about friends needing to access the house or indoor cameras or landlords making excuses to come by. It really makes me feel like I’m not trusted enough for them to be transparent with me, and kinda works against the mutual trust that is so crucial to the concept.
Well that post was intended as direct response to the comment saying that I’m “living in fear” and being “rather passive about standing up for myself” and “being vulnerable to being taken advantage of.” My perspective was never that I was “being taken advantage of” or “living in fear” in the first place. So I was trying to breakdown how their idea of taking action would not truly give me any kind of advantage or make me less vulnerable.
And to be clear, I’m not saying that those hosts liked me purely because I didn’t protest the camera. But I certainly think that if a sitter arrives, and immediately complains about the camera, that would create a chain reaction - a greater sense of suspicion and scrutiny right off the bat in the host’s perception of everything that follows. Probably on a very subconscious level since most hosts want to perceive themselves as not caring about that sort of thing.
I completely agree and that’s why I’m not super bothered by a single obvious indoor camera. I can’t imagine any hosts I’ve had would actually have the time to look at them much. And even if they did, I’m not scared of them seeing anything in particular.
But I also think there is something inherently uncomfortable about a camera being present. It’s not that I think I’m being watched very often, but it’s just the feeling that at any moment someone could decide to look at me.
It imposes a self-consciousness that subtly dampens the human spirit, I think. But then again, if it’s just one room / small area, who cares? And I agree with your point about obvious vs hidden cameras.
Yeah that makes sense, I have definitely seen that more and more in nicer homes! And honestly, that said, personally I much prefer modest homes to nicer homes for sits.
Not just because of the camera thing, but more modest homes just feel like way less pressure in general.
The very best sits I’ve done have been very modest homes in great locations.
My “living in fear” comment wasn’t about security cameras and privacy invasion, it was about being intimidated and fearful of others and what they might say and do if you should stand up for yourself and not allow them to take advantage of you.
This is the pig. Of course we’re not doing anything naughty. But who likes being filmed as they stagger about in their underwear looking for the poo bags? Or indeed, doing Life? But covering or deactivating the cameras could too easily be interpreted as having something to hide. I think the term is “cleft stick”..
I don’t think I would like that, because when I’m home at a sit, I’m usually in a nightgown and nothing else. I would feel unsafe in the situation like that.