How to find hidden cameras in an Airbnb, according to a security expert | Hacker News Reader

How to find hidden cameras in an Airbnb, according to a security expert

washingtonpost.com

22 pointsharambae11 comments

This is madness.

I only use Airbnb in Europe for properties that are properly licensed by local authorities. They're very professionally run and would never pull these kind of stunts.

I won't stay in a "room" or a property which isn't licensed now as Airbnb's policies alone isn't enough. All my bad experiences in the past have been with owners of just one property (unlicensed)

But I only use Airbnb for trips where multiple hotel rooms are significantly more expensive - very much a last resort. I just stay at hotels now when I travel solo or there isn't too much of a premium. As crap as hotels are these days they're still better than having to deal with Airbnb

I also refuse to use Uber Eats, Deliveroo etc as they're similarly too big for their boots and anti consumer.

I’ve noticed a significant change in Uber Eats and Deliveroo recently. Uber Eats has become almost impossible to use to resolve problems - and they seem to have doubled down on this. I recently ordered food where the driver called me several times because he was lost, and then ended up marking the food as delivered even though his location was completely wrong. Uber Eats refused point blank to refund me. I got the impression that the email replies were automatically generated and the issue had not been reviewed by a human. I couldn’t get through by phone because I didn’t have an active order and you can only get phone support for active orders. I ended up raising a chargeback with my bank.

Conversely, in my recent experience Deliveroo has become much better at resolving problems. I’ve had a couple of issues recently (food delivered cold, a substitute item in a grocery order I’d specified no substitutions) and both were sorted out with a single message resulting in a full refund.

I now use Deliveroo over Uber Eats and wonder whether they are making a conscious decision to get customers to prefer them by offering better customer service.

And, simultaneously, I wonder whether that customer service will be pulled back again once they’ve increased whatever metric they are optimising against. I do also wonder whether you get better customer service from these platforms if you meet certain characteristics - not a super regular user, but regular enough, with a moving average spend over or under a particular level, or indications from buying patterns that you are likely (or unlikely) to become a loyal or high spending customer.

Article is behind paywall, this alternative worked for me: https://archive.md/nIAOO

Weirdly boomer is paranoid piece that seems very much constructed to articulate a particular point of view.

One of the examples given is to use a FLIR detector attached to a smartphone to identify unusual heat signatures. The examples given are a USB charger and a plugged-in air freshener, and the “proof” that they are hidden cameras is that they are emitting a lot of heat.

This seems misleading as usb chargers often emit a lot of heat, and the plugged in air fresheners that I have seen have a wick and heat element.

Very strange piece of “journalism”.

Can’t comment on the accuracy of their methods, but hidden cameras in AirBnBs are actually a big problem.

Alternatively you could find the router, login to the access panel and see if any cameras are logged into the network.

Amazon has a ton of cheap, hidden spy cams. It’s quite scary.

Ah, yes, sorry - I should have made it clearer that I don’t disagree that this is a problem, more that the methods they are using might make people more paranoid rather than giving them actionable ways to protect themselves. It is all whacky gadgets and bad science.

You could also stay at a hotel.

Most hotels don't have kitchens.

Most hotels are incredibly expensive if you need to stay for several weeks.

Most hotels are located in tourist areas, which may increase your commute if you're in an area for a specific reason.

While I agree, depending on where you're staying, 'aparthotels' (hotels where rooms have little kitchens) are becoming increasingly widespread and affordable - can be a good alternative to Airbnb for long stays in many cases.

> Most hotels don't have kitchens

Most hotels have kitchens for room service but not individual kitchens in regular guest rooms (though luxury suites may have them.)

Several major hotel chains (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott...) in the US do seem to have a brand of "suites" and/or extended stay hotels that feature kitchens/kitchenettes. Marriott/Residence Inn is one example.

> Most hotels are incredibly expensive if you need to stay for several weeks.

Hotels have had 'long stay' rates for ever.

I've lived in hotels 4 times in my life and each time the rates were around 2-2.5x what you'd pay renting directly, which was around the same rate an equivalent air bnb tends to be these days.

You usually just have to ask for their long term rate.

People living in hotels has been a staple of society for centuries, you'd better believe hotels are set up to cope. Many even have special rooms with kitchenettes for long term guests.

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