20 February 2024 , 15:09
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A flight attendant has shared two handy phone tricks she uses to check for hidden cameras in hotel rooms.
Obscured, tucked-away filming devices in holiday rooms are a concern for some travellers who are understandably uncomfortable with the idea of being filmed against their will.
Although it is impossible to know how common a phenomenon it is, holiday let landlords have been caught hiding cameras before. If you're staying in a holiday flat owned by a landlord who you suspect may want to keep a secret eye on their property, start by checking the mirrors.
You can see if there's a hidden camera behind the mirror by touching the glass with your fingertip and look at the contact point, explains flight attendant Esther. If there's a gap of about a centimetre between your finger and its reflection, the mirror is normal.
But if your finger and its reflection touch, "there is something fishy about the mirror", warns security company Ddcountermeasures. To see if it's a two-way device, turn off the lights and shine a torch onto the glass to see if there's a room on the other side.
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In a video on her TikTok channel @esthersturrus, the travel pro then checks the bathroom, including the shower, before looking at the fire alarm, TV and curtains using her phone's torch. Hidden cameras have lenses that reflect light, so a simple way to find them is to shut the curtains, switch off the lights, and use your phone's torch. You should be able to see the hidden camera's reflection.
It might take a bit of time to locate, as the reflection will only be visible when the light hits the lens at the right angle. Holidaymakers can also spot these sneaky devices just by using their phone's camera. Spy cameras use infrared lighting for filming in the dark, say security experts at Kaspersky. This is invisible to our eyes but not to a phone camera.
"When filming in the dark, the infrared light source will appear on the screen as a pulsing dot," the security whizzes explained. "Remember that your smartphone's main camera might not work, because it probably has an IR-light filter, so the front camera is a better choice."
"You can test with a TV remote to see if your smartphone is up to the task. If you're right, you'll see a glare on the smartphone screen. If you can't use the phone's camera and flashlight at the same time, use a separate torch."