Where hidden cameras are hidden, and how to check each spot

Updated October 22, 2026 · 5 min read

A hidden camera needs three things: a view of something private, a small opening for the lens, and power from a battery or a socket. That is why the same kinds of objects keep coming up in real cases:

  • CNN’s July 2024 investigation of rentals described a camera concealed in a clock radio and pointed at the guests’ bed, one hidden in a charger in a bedroom, and one plugged into the wall and aimed directly at the bed.
  • Skift’s summary of that investigation mentions cameras hidden in smoke detectors, electric outlets and alarm clocks.
  • In a 2019 case involving 30 accommodations in South Korea, police said cameras were hidden inside digital TV boxes, wall sockets and hairdryer holders.

None of this means every smoke detector or charger is suspicious. It means these are the objects worth a closer look.

Start from the view, not the object

A camera is placed to see something: the bed, the shower, the toilet, the place where people change. So stand in those spots first and look at what faces you.

This also matters for the flashlight check. Researchers behind the LAPD study (SenSys 2021) found that reflections from a hidden camera’s lens are only visible within about 10 degrees of the direction it points. You are most likely to catch a glint from the spot the camera is aimed at. The flashlight sweep itself is described in can your phone detect hidden cameras?

Spot by spot

Smoke detectors and ceiling fittings

  • Why: high up, a view of the whole room, and nobody touches them.
  • Look for: a pinhole or dark glass dot on the side, a detector angled toward the bed, or more detectors than a small room needs.
  • Check: use your phone camera’s zoom to look closely without climbing, then do a flashlight sweep from the bed. Never take a smoke detector apart.

Alarm clocks and clock radios

  • Why: they sit by the bed and face it, as in the clock-radio case CNN described.
  • Look for: a tiny hole outside the display area, or a dark panel that could hide a lens. Check the back for a memory card slot or ports a clock doesn’t need.
  • Check: a flashlight sweep from the pillow.

Chargers, adapters and power banks

  • Why: constant power, and they look ordinary anywhere.
  • Look for: a pinhole or dark glass on the face of a charger, especially one with no cable in it that faces the bed or shower.
  • Check: a flashlight sweep from the bed. If one looks wrong, leave it plugged in.

Wall sockets, switches and power strips

  • Why: they appear in both the 2019 and the 2024 cases above.
  • Look for: a socket cover that is thicker than the others, doesn’t match them, or has a hole that isn’t a socket.
  • Check: compare it with the other sockets in the room.

TVs and TV boxes

  • Why: the TV usually faces the bed, and the boxes around it draw little attention.
  • Look for: a set-top box, streaming box or unexplained gadget next to the TV with a pinhole or dark window on the front.
  • Check: a flashlight sweep from the bed, then a night-vision check in the dark, because a camera here would be facing the room.

Picture frames, wall art and mirrors

  • Why: they hang on walls that face the bed.
  • Look for: a hole in the frame or the picture itself.
  • Check mirrors like this: turn off the lights and press your phone’s flashlight against the glass. With an ordinary mirror you only see the reflection. If you can see into a space or a lens behind it, stop there and report it.

Air vents, air purifiers and fans

  • Why: a grille hides a lens well.
  • Look for: a dark dot or a small object behind the grille, or a purifier pointed at the bed.
  • Check: shine the flashlight through the grille and look for a glint.

Lamps and light fittings

  • Look for: a dark dot in the base, shade or fitting of a lamp aimed at the bed or shower.
  • Check: a flashlight sweep with the lamp off.

Shelves, books, plants and decorations

  • Look for: objects angled toward the bed: tissue boxes, toys, decorative boxes or books with a hole in them.
  • Check: a flashlight sweep from the bed and the sofa.

Bathrooms

  • Why: as CNN put it, hidden cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms show guests during their most private moments.
  • Look for: the hairdryer holder, vents, shelves, hooks and anything else facing the shower or toilet.
  • Check: a flashlight sweep while standing in the shower and sitting on the toilet.

Outside, looking in

Airbnb and Vrbo both allow disclosed exterior cameras, but neither allows them to see inside. Vrbo’s policy gives the example of a camera pointed through a window. Airbnb also bans cameras over places with a greater expectation of privacy, such as an enclosed outdoor shower or sauna.

  • Check: look out of each window for cameras aimed at it, and compare the exterior cameras with the ones listed. The rules are in Airbnb and Vrbo camera rules.

How to inspect without breaking anything

  • Look, don’t dismantle. Opening a host’s or hotel’s device can damage evidence, and a disabled smoke detector is a safety risk.
  • Use your phone as a magnifier. Zoom in on high or awkward spots instead of climbing on furniture.
  • Change your angle. Move slowly and look at each object from where you would sit, lie or stand.
  • If something looks wrong, stop. Don’t touch it. Photograph it in place and follow what to do if you find a hidden camera.

What a spot check misses

A visual check finds what you think to look at. It can miss a camera in an object you didn’t expect, a lens aimed somewhere you never stood, or a device behind a surface. That’s why a full check adds a night-vision check and, where it helps, a look at the Wi-Fi device list. For complete routines, see the rental check and the hotel room check.

SpyOff, our upcoming iPhone app, includes this checklist room by room, so you can tick off each spot as you go.

Questions

Where are hidden cameras usually found?

In the cases reported by CNN and by police, inside everyday objects with a view of a bed or shower: smoke detectors, alarm clocks and clock radios, phone chargers, wall sockets and things plugged into them, TV boxes, and bathroom fittings such as hairdryer holders.

What does a hidden camera lens look like?

Usually a pinhole or a small dark glass dot on the face of an object. In a dark room it can throw a flashlight beam back as a small, sharp point of light, but only when you look from roughly the direction the camera is pointing.

How do I check a mirror for a hidden camera?

Turn off the room lights and press your phone's flashlight against the glass. With an ordinary mirror you only see the reflection. If you can see into a space or spot a lens behind the glass, don't touch it, photograph it and report it.

Sources

More guides

How to check a rental for hidden cameras A step-by-step check-in routine for short-term rentals: what to read before you arrive, seven checks to run before you unpack, and what those checks can miss. How to check a hotel room for hidden cameras A short routine for hotel rooms and how it differs from a rental: cameras in lobbies and hallways are normal, the room is what to check, and a hotel Wi-Fi scan proves little. Can your phone detect hidden cameras? What each method finds and misses An honest, method-by-method look at what an iPhone can and can't detect: lens glint, infrared glow, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth device lists, and the magnetometer.