@TheEnglishFlaneur I must have just encountered the two HOs with indoor cameras. 
I’ve done many sits in the UK and the majority did not have cameras.
@systaran, agreed. It’s easy to forget that THS policy is for Cameras & Recording Devices. We interpret recording devices to including Google Home, Amazon Alexa, etc devices whether audio+camera or just audio. We have found many such devices undisclosed by pet parents. Unless device is an integral part of home technology then we disconnect from power supply and reconnect prior to departing housesit.
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@Ckone2541, great shout out. My spouse and I have had to have a similar conversation. Not great at all. Excuse that PP was unaware of THS policy seems complete nonsense. If a housesitter took same approach … ‘I didn’t realize that I had clean the property at end of sit’ … then PP would be unhappy and probably raise an angry dispute with THS.
We support greater related education and enforcement by THS in regards its Camera & Recording Devices policy.
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I believe that at least some homeowners are unaware of the policies. I believe it because most homeowners don’t use the site more than a few times a year and aren’t aware of MANY policies. Most homeowners don’t notice or open every email they get from THS. They don’t come to the forum. They don’t have the kind of “relationship” with THS and other sitters and homeowners that almost everyone participating in this forum has.
Currently, I’m going to a sit for a lovely person. And I’m sure they don’t have indoor cameras, BUT they changed the dates and I was able to get them to change it on the site but now I’m dreading contacting them AGAIN with the news that they still have to click “confirm” one more time. It makes it seem like I’m being the pain in the you know what insisting they do this or that. Most people skim something once: “Okay clean house!” and that’s about it.
They don’t think. They don’t read. They don’t know.
THS policy of sending reminders is useless especially as at this point most people have personal emails that are full of junk and effectively useless. Sitters can and do figure out workarounds.
As dull as it all is, maybe rather than simply “click” to confirm, if each side had to click to confirm stuff like it was a contract you were initialing before a sit is confirmed they woud see and read the rules. This could be an auto-generated form that would have arrival times agreed on already by both party, it could have something the sitter agreed to like “no guests” or “no smoking”. It could have basic stuff that always applies “no indoor cameras”.
OR maybe it’s something that every 3 months someone has to do like a professional development class – read through, video, somethng, to maintain good standing.
Whatever it is, it’s not just cameras. It is various norms, rules, and obligations on both sides.
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I don’t love it, but this is the only approach that’s worked for me. Even if homeowners are told cameras aren’t allowed, it’s easy for them to hide one—many everyday devices now have built-in audio/video. On one sit, the lights were all controlled by Alexa, which I quietly disconnected and worked around without saying anything.
I also have confidential conversations, so I check for devices and use white noise. Like many, I’ve had to accept that cameras are everywhere now—phones, homes, public spaces. I still avoid being recorded when I can, but I’ve stopped trying to control it entirely.
That said, I support THS’s no-recording/cameras policy. It gives sitters the right to leave if there’s intentional surveillance. Most people are good, and I trust THS to deal with the few who aren’t.
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I am so grateful for all of you speaking up here. When I contacted THS they were very helpful but also wrote “rest assured this is not the norm,” which is absolutely not true. I have emailed THS the link to this forum topic so that they can see it for themselves instead of hearing that the issue is isolated.
For other folks coming into this conversation, if you have experiences with indoor cameras, please keep sharing.
I have sent multiple emails since joining about adding a “report listing” button to be able to report cameras that are openly listed (right now you have to go through the live chat option or email which is time consuming.)
We have also requested that PP’s are notified atvevery step of the listing and booking process that there is a No Indoor Camera policy (which can and should be a hyperlink) so that there is no way PP’s can say “I wasn’t aware.”
I truly dont think some PP’s are aware because in my own exp as a PP, I’ve only seen the warning once. This should not be the case. I see the THS wordmark on every page… the same should be for the no indoor cam policy on every page it can be applied to.
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Would you be willing to share your questionnaire? I have been considering this as well. Thank you.
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Have software, will travel
My laptop has an inexpensive app called FING installed. When we do a sit, and hook up to their network, Fing checks the server for devices and reports them. It identifies any cameras or security devices and we like that for security and privacy. That said, many houses now have a proliferation of Alexas in every room turning on the lights, the TV, providing radio service and many other tasks. Is every Alexa an idling listening device?
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No, I have an alexa and use it only for light lamp plugs that I can’t reach, however there is a setting that can be turned on to turn things on when motion and voice are sensed. I dont have it on as it creates a 3d map of spaces (kind of like echolocation) but some folks may turn it on.
If in doubt, disconnect it.
@loventhis As another poster stated, no, Alexa devices are not listening in.
We have Alexa on the main level for lighting control and dimming. They are not ever listening in, we do not have them configured that way.
We also state this in our listing. And state that sitters may have them unplugged, which we’re happy to do prior to our departure. We are totally ok with that, as we want sitters to be comfy in our home.
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But they might not complain. They might simply find excuses to mark you down i the review…
I’m inclined to agree with you. But now I find myself thinking: How would we know?
I had one sit, in Ireland, where some kind of high-mounted device was pointed at the bathroom..In fact, the bath. Being there alone and not overlooked, I used the bath-tub several times, ambling back and forth naked. I didn’t notice the odd white device near the ceiling until three days from the end of the sit. I told myself it must be a disabled burglar alarm, since no lights on it were flashing. But I had an… odd… feeling about the HOs throughout, although they were perfectly welcoming and pleasant. Hmmm…
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I hate when they don’t tell us about the camera, echo device, webcam or any external devices. If I see it and have a feeling that they will use it then I warn them I will unplug it immediately if it turns a problem.
It always turn into a problem then I unplug it, and they don’t say anything.
also watch out for cat automatic feeders, some of them have also a camera to watch the cat and watch part of the room.
question: how do you know if the alarm motion sensors (white boxes by the wall) have a camera included or not?
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A great post - thank you!
I second that ensuring HO are aren’t filming sitters should not be the responsibility of sitters.
Considering how serious it is to violate someone’s privacy combined with the ubiquity of camera culture, which as mentioned could include acquiring footage of a sitter nude, it doesn’t feel like THS are serious enough about managing it.
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In my opinion, this would be the best option. Acknowledgement of every important rule should be clicked before being allowed to confirm the sit by both parties.
As you say, it may sound dull but when someone is leaving their home and pets in someone else’s care or when a sitter can expose themselves to potential dangers or lack of privacy, I think it is well worth the little extra time. It would also help both parties to remember the need of a fair exchange agreement.
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Is there somewhere on the site where we can read what guidelines are given to the homeowners ?
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Agree 
. Just want to offer up our support and agreement with what you are saying. It is often difficult to even see or know where the cameras are until you’re already been days into the sit, At least it is for me more than my techie husband. And I want to add the times they came up was in the UK and EU countries.
This is an interesting topic and one I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about, Perhaps I should. I’m both a PP and a PS. In my home I have an outdoor SIMPLISAFE camera which I divulge. I have an alarm system but don’t offer that to sitters and I don’t have Alexa or anything like that. I mainly use the alarm system at night and I don’t have indoor cameras.
As a PS I do ask people about cameras, etc but in the future what I think I’ll do is to comment during Zoom that my understanding of electronics is limited. If they have any indoor cameras please insure that they are off because if they’ve forgotten and I come across them, there aren’t any guarantees that I could turn them off or unplug them properly. That might give them added incentive to pay attention to their indoor cameras and to make sure they are off.
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