If you’ve ever stepped inside of an Airbnb (ABNB) and had the feeling that someone was watching you, that may now be the last time you will ever feel like that inside of a listing from the app. The platform has officially banned indoor security cameras in its listings, a change many users have been calling for after its problem with hidden cameras has been exposed by several users.
“Airbnb is banning the use of indoor security cameras in listings globally as part of efforts to simplify our policy on security cameras and other devices and to continue to prioritize the privacy of our community,” said Airbnb in a press release.
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Before the ban, the platform claims that it has always allowed hosts to have indoor security cameras in common areas of their homes (like in the living room and kitchen) only as long as they were disclosed to guests on the listing page and were not placed in private areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms.
Even though security cameras will be banned regardless of their location, Airbnb is still allowing hosts to have “doorbell cameras and noise decibel monitors” in their homes, which will be required for hosts to disclose their presence to guests on the rental’s listing page.
“These cameras will also be prohibited from monitoring indoor spaces of a listing and are not allowed in certain outdoor areas where there’s a greater expectation of privacy, like an enclosed outdoor shower or sauna,” said Airbnb in the press release.
Hosts will also be required to disclose the presence of noise decibel monitors, which should only assess decibel levels and not record or transmit sounds or conversations. They will also only be allowed to be placed in common spaces of the rental.
Airbnb is giving hosts until April 30 to comply with the new rules. Any reported violations of the new policy after that date will be investigated by the app.
The move from Airbnb comes as hidden cameras have gradually exposed by users over the past few years. In 2018, the Atlantic published a piece that exposed several incidents where guests found hidden cameras in the app’s listings. One guest even found hidden cameras in a bedroom of a listing they were staying in that were disguised to look like phone charges.
Last year, a lawsuit was filed against an Airbnb host by a couple in Texas who allege that several hidden cameras in their Airbnb rental were disguised as smoke detectors and were placed in private areas such as the bathroom, a place they claim they were intimate in, and a bedroom.
Hidden cameras on the platform have grown to become a common problem for users. According to a survey last year from home security company Vivint, 1 in 10 Airbnb and Vrbo hosts have hidden cameras or microphones in their listings that their guests are unaware of, and 7% of those hosts had a hidden camera in at least one bedroom.
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