How to Check Your Hotel Room for Hidden Cameras and Stay Safe While Traveling

Whenever you settle in a hotel room, do you have a feeling that Big Brother is watching you? Sadly, it is rather truer than paranoia. In Nanjing (China), local authorities recently warned travelers about suspicious devices discovered in short-stay apartments. And how many stories are there about Airbnb hidden cameras?

If you want to know exactly how to check your hotel room for hidden cameras and not be watched while brushing your teeth or lying in bed, this article is what you’re looking for. Plus, you’ll get bonus knowledge on how to safeguard yourself digitally with a tool like VeePN.

Oliver Bennett

Feb 20, 2025

6 min read

How to Check Your Hotel Room for Hidden Cameras

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Why worry about hotel and Airbnb hidden cameras?

Modern cameras are not chunky gadgets impossible to hide. Many of them now have miniature designs and can be integrated into the USB chargers, smoke detectors, or alarm clocks. They can be literally like tiny pinholes hidden behind hotel mirrors or small hidden cameras in hotel room vents. You may not even notice such hotel spy cams and each of your activities will be captured.

A shocking fact. In a 2019 survey, 11% of respondents said they had discovered Airbnb hidden cameras in their vacation rental. It means your privacy can potentially be at stake each time you rent a hotel room or an Airbnb apartment. With that being said, let’s uncover some common places where unscrupulous Airbnb home owners or hotels may hide their spying cameras.

Places where you can potentially find hidden cameras

Such cameras are meant to be disguised so well that you’d never suspect a thing. Think of places you’d never expect to have a camera inside, like an air freshener, a pen, or a keyhole — any of those might house a mini camera.

Here are the likely hiding spots to watch out first of all:

Smoke detectors and alarm clocks on the nightstand
Lamps, air vents, or decorative ornaments in the living space
Mirrors or wall fixtures in the bathroom
Digital photo frames or USB chargers near outlets

Discover the extended list of the potential hidden camera spots below:

Now that you know where to look for cameras, it’s time to outline methods for detecting them.

How do you detect hidden cameras in hotel rooms?

Next time you settle in the new hotel room or apartment, do the following to find out whether you’re being watched:

Inspect your apartment physically

Your first line of defence without additional means is scanning every nook and cranny of your apartment and checking for hidden cameras in hotel rooms. Check out whether there’re holes in mirrors, or suspicious smudges. Are there any tiny pinholes on lamps, or perhaps decorative items like a toy or clock? Anything could have a hidden camera, so better safe than sorry.

Use a flashlight to look for lens reflections

Turn off the light in your room and draw the curtains or blinds. Then turn on a flashlight on your mobile phone and slowly shine a room to look for lens reflections. A camera lens, even if well-concealed, will often reflect light with a distinct bluish or glaring dot. This is especially useful in spotting a hidden cam at hotels tucked inside vents or behind pictures.

Try your smartphone camera

Use phone camera to find hidden cameras in hotel room

Sometimes, your smartphone may pick up infrared signals usually coming from hidden cameras. So, darken the room again, turn on your smartphone camera, and slowly pan it around in a circle. This technique is particularly handy for discovering hidden cameras in a hotel room.

Scan for electronic signals

You may need Radio Frequency (RF) detectors or specialized “bug sweep” apps on your phone. These ones can help you detect hidden cameras in hotel rooms or short-term rented apartments by the signals they emit. We need to mention that such detectors aren’t foolproof, but they can still do a decent job and help to reveal devices that transmit video signals.

Check the local network

Another option to find hotel spy cams or Airbnb hidden cameras is to login into your hotel’s Wi-Fi and scan there for connected devices. Modern cameras mostly transmit the data via Wi-Fi. In this way, if you see an unknown device or suspicious name connected, this can be a red flag.

But there are other privacy risks associated with using hotel Wi-Fi. So, if you do choose to look for questionable devices on the network, protect your personal information with a reliable VPN to secure your connection.

How a VPN improves your digital security in hotels

Beyond finding spy cameras in a hotel room, it is also worth thinking about digital security. If you could be watched physically, why couldn’t you be watched digitally? During travels, you can frequently use free Internet networks — your Airbnb apartments, or a hotel lobby, or even at the airport. Unfortunately, such types of Internet connections are primary targets for malicious actors who can steal your data. And that’s why you could use a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network shields your traffic through a VPN encryption. It wraps all the data you use in a secure tunnel from your device to the web. That means hackers on the hotel’s network can’t access your online actions: read your emails, passwords, or financial information.

Also, a VPN helps hide your IP address by assigning you an anonymous IP in another location. So long story short, a reliable VPN improves your overall Internet privacy.

Are free VPNs a good option?

You might have thought about using free VPN services. The idea of saving money looks indeed attractive, but are free VPN options safe? Many free VPNs can do a complete 180 and compromise your privacy instead of protecting it. To maintain their services, such service providers often collect and sell your data to third parties, which goes completely against the core promise of a VPN. On top of that, they can track your browsing habits, flood you with ads, and even inject malicious code that weakens encryption they’re supposed to provide.

If you value your privacy and need reliable performance from a VPN provider, consider using VeePN.

Try VeePN – your ultimate travel companion

VeePN keeps digital footprints completely untraceable. Here are the reasons why you might want to consider using it during your next trips:

Robust encryption. VeePN offers top-notch AES 256-bit encryption. These algorithms protect all incoming and outgoing data, so that you can stay calm on any network.
No Logs. VeePN has a strict No Logs policy. This way, whatever you do online stays private, and no one knows about your activities.
No data leaks. If VPN connection glitches, a built-in Kill Switch feature automatically shuts down Internet connection, preventing any data leakage.
Global server coverage. If you’re traveling and want to access censored or geo-restricted content, connect to one of VeePN’s 2500 servers across 60 countries and see the content you want without limits.
Use on multiple devices. Want to use smartphones to laptops and tablets simultaneously? VeePN secures up to 10 devices per subscription.

Get your own VPN pricing plan and enjoy benefits worry-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

FAQ

They aren’t extremely widespread, but unethical hosts do exist. Some might even hide a spy cam in places like smoke detectors, so keep an eye out for suspicious objects during your stay. In the article, we outlined a complete list of where you can potentially find a spy cam.

Legally, they shouldn’t. But dishonest owners might use discreet electronic devices. Always check the Wi-Fi network for unknown connections if you need to detect a hidden camera.

Turn off the lights and use your iPhone’s camera to spot any infrared light reflections. You can also install hidden camera detector apps on your cell phone for a quick scan.

Run a network scan on the same network to spot unfamiliar devices. You can also rely on specific apps that highlight hidden signals or reflections to find a hidden camera quickly.

Written by Oliver Bennett Oliver Bennett is a dedicated cyber security content writer with a knack for breaking down intricate cyber topics into accessible and actionable insights.