Hidden Camera Horror: Airbnb’s Privacy Nightmare

Hidden Camera Horror Airbnb's Privacy Nightmare According to the Times, a couple renting an Airbnb near Lake Winnipascu I may have botched that name made a disturbing discovery. A hidden camera disguised as a power outlet in their bathroom right above the toilet. They had already showered and undressed before spotting the tiny flashing light. Police took the device as evidence, but Airbnb initially refused to give them a full refund, saying it couldn't confirm a policy violation. That policy, however, bans any indoor cameras, period. Despite clear photographic proof, Airbnb didn't remove the listing until months later. After media inquiries, investigators found thousands of hours of footage on the camera's memory card, though none showing People columnist Seth Google calls Airbnb's response inexplicable, noting that the company's dispute resolution system seems overwhelmed by its massive scale. For renters, the takeaway is chilling. Even with strong policies on paper, enforcement is anything but reliable. Okay, what's the real message here? If you use Airbnb, you may want to walk around in a bathing suit at all times because your privacy is not protected. Maybe Hilton isn't run by perverts, but when it comes to individual homeowners renting on Airbnb, some of them are perverts and some of them are recording you naked. Let's dig a little deeper here. Now, I use Airbnb many times. My family and I have enjoyed it and perhaps I've been lax. I haven't gone around the house looking for secret cameras. It kind of seems odd or sad to think that it might get to that, but we do live in an era where cameras get smaller and smaller and smaller. This one apparently had a light go on, which I don't want to seem like I'm giving tips to perverts, but you could put a piece of tape over the light, presumably. So it's amazing that even got caught. Not everyone has a bias. I mean, I'm a 62 year old, let's be charitable, average looking man. Nobody wants to see me naked. If they did capture the video, they would quickly avoid their eyes and hit delete. So this is not an issue that affects me personally, but I have family members, wife, daughter, other other family members who would not like this. Airbnb has got to beef up their enforcement policy, their enforcement team. I mean, the problem with Airbnb and all tech companies is Wall street rewards you by having the absolute smallest headcount possible, so you can show the greatest multiple of revenues per person you have. That's why if you ever have a problem with Google or Facebook and you think, wow, any reasonable person who could hear my side of the story would instantly see there's a problem here. It needs to be rectified. And after about 10 months of beating your head up against the wall, you realize there is nobody there at Google or Facebook to talk to. There simply is no customer service. Airbnb, a much smaller company, obviously than Google or Facebook, but they face the same pressures on Wall street to keep the headcount low, profits high, and unfortunately, this is one of the things that gets the short shipped. So I don't know what the answer is. If you do see something, I would urge you alert police authorities right away. Then alert Airbnb if you don't get a full refund. If you don't see that that offending Airbnb has been taken off the listings, talk about it on social media. Post it. Call your local newspaper reporters. If you have one, call a local TV reporter, Get attention, because it is. Well, it's beyond icky. It is illegal.