A woman and her eight friends were shocked when they found what they mistakenly believed to be a hidden camera in the bathroom of their Airbnb.
Kennedy, who didn't give her surname, is 26 and from Vancouver, Canada. She told Newsweek how she and her friends were staying at a large Airbnb in Gibsons, British Columbia, to celebrate a 30th birthday.
"One of the girls had been watching TikTok videos of people hiding small cameras all over the place," Kennedy told Newsweek. "So, she took out her phone flashlight and shined it in all the outlets. That's when she found the camera facing the shower in a broken outlet."
"She started freaking out and told a couple of us," said Kennedy. "We couldn't believe it at first but then we all started freaking out once she brought us into the bathroom to show us what she found."
A spokesperson for the Sunshine Coast Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a law enforcement agency, initially told Newsweek: "I can confirm that the Sunshine Coast RCMP are investigating after cameras were reportedly located within a short-term rental home."
However, on July 18, 2023, the Sunshine Coast RCMP publicly confirmed that they were not cameras.
In a statement, it said: "The Sunshine Coast RCMP engaged the assistance of a specialized unit and together it was noted that the outlets did look suspicious. The units were removed and they were sent to the laboratory for forensic and functional examination.
"On June 30th, Sunshine Coast RCMP were advised that after examination of the electrical outlets, it was confirmed that they were in fact electrical outlets and did not contain cameras, lenses or any type of storage/recording devices. The complainants, the homeowner and Airbnb have all been notified of this finding."
The group are not the first people to report finding what they believed to be a hidden camera while staying in an Airbnb. In 2022 a couple shared the moment they found a hidden camera in their Airbnb, while a viral video from 2021 revealed how to find hidden cameras.
The TikTok hashtag #hiddencamera has more than 1.3 billion views, and many content creators share how they check spaces for hidden cameras—particularly when staying somewhere unfamiliar.
Small cameras that can be fitted into outlets or other small areas can be purchased for as little as $40, but Airbnb strictly prohibits the use of such devices.
After covering what they thought was the camera, Kennedy and her friends stayed together in the living room for the rest of the night and called the police in the morning.
After reporting the incident to Airbnb, the girls received a full refund and Airbnb removed the host's account from the site.
However, as a result of the findings of the RCMP, Airbnb has revisited the case. A spokesperson told Newsweek: "Airbnb is thankful to the Sunshine Coast RCMP for their investigation, and our hope is that the guests are reassured by their findings. Following their investigation, we have also reinstated the Host.
"Our stance remains firm—hidden cameras are prohibited on Airbnb, and issues of that nature on our platform are incredibly rare."
Update, 07/20/2023, 04:55 a.m. ET: This article and its headline were updated to reflect the results of the Sunshine Coast RCMP investigation into the incident, which found no hidden cameras in the Airbnb, and the fact that Airbnb has reinstated the host.
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Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more
