What is the easiest way to detect a secret camera hidden in an apartment, house or hotel room? How to find hidden surveillance cameras in a room? We've put together 6 effective ways to help you discover hidden surveillance cameras and monitoring devices installed in outdoor and indoor areas, including hotel rooms, bathrooms, homes, and anywhere.
1. Carefully scan the environment for suspicious hidden cameras
One of the easiest ways to detect a hidden camera is to double-check your surroundings. Searching every inch of the distance from the doorway to the windowsill where the camera might be hidden will help to spot the "obviously" hidden camera in the first step.
The most common location for hiding cameras indoors
• Smoke detectors
• Air filter equipment
• Books
• Wall decoration
• Power outlets
• Desktop plants
• Tissue box
• Stuffed teddy bears
• Sofa cushions, table tops and shelves
• DVD case
• Lava lights
• Digital TV box
• Wall sockets
• Hair dryer stand
• Wall clock or alarm clock
• Clothes hook
• Pen
The most common location for hiding cameras and listeners outdoors
• Indoor plants
• Holes in the doors
• Roof
• Doorbell outside the home
Some objects may reveal suspicious wires, lights, or lenses that are signs of a hidden camera. If you notice some unhealthy electrical outlets or adapters, unplug them immediately.
As you walk through the room, watch out for some hidden motion-sensitive surveillance cameras that emit a barely audible hum when running.
2. Turn off the lights in the room to discover the hidden night vision camera
You can find hidden cameras in a room based on how night vision surveillance cameras work. Most hidden cameras have red or green LEDs. LEDs blink or glow in low light.
In the event of low light, the LEDs around the camera lens are automatically lit to complement the camera' illumination, resulting in a clear night view.
You can follow the steps below to find the hidden camera in dark conditions.
Step 1: Close the curtains in your room and turn off the lights.
Step 2: Check if there are any flashing red or green LEDs in your room.
You can use this method of detection no matter which type of hidden camera you want to detect, wired or wireless, and hidden cameras in cars, stores, living rooms, bedrooms, homes, etc. can be found according to this step.
Tip not to be missed: It's also an easy way to check if the hidden camera is turned on.
3. Use your phone to locate the hidden surveillance camera
How to detect hidden cameras on iPhone and Android phones?
(1) Ask if you can find the hidden camera with your phone, and the answer is "yes"!
Even without detectors, you can find hidden cameras with 2 easy and free ways to use your iPhone or Android smartphone.
Way 1. Use your phone to check hidden cameras and listening devices
Step 1: Make a phone call with your friends or family.
Step 2: Walk around your room. Hidden surveillance usually emits a special radio frequency that interferes with your phone signal.
If you notice a signal interference in a particular place or location, stop and double-check the place to see if there are hidden cameras there.
Way 2. Use the mobile app to find hidden cameras and listening devices
Step 1: Install the Detect Hidden Camera app on your iPhone or Android phone. For example, the Hide Camera Detector app (.apk) software is a good choice.
You can see more apps here to detect hidden cameras.
Step 2: Launch the app on your phone. When your smartphone approaches the hidden camera, the detector software glows red. Note that it also emits light when it is close to other types of hardware with radio frequencies.
When you travel and stay in a hotel room, you can carry a portable battery camera with you. You can leave it in your hotel room to see who has entered your room without your permission. After installing surveillance cameras in your hotel room, you can also keep an eye on your stuff.
4. Use professional camera detectors or sensors to discover hidden cameras
Professional RF signal detectors or other hidden camera detectors are very effective for locating hidden cameras.
Many news reports have reported that people are constantly finding hidden cameras in their rented homes. If you're traveling for business or vacationing and renting a house, you can quickly spot hidden cameras with detectors.
Typically, detectors make beeps when they detect a signal and an audible indication when you're close to a potential camera.
Note that RF hidden camera detectors typically detect only one frequency. If hidden security cameras and other vulnerabilities use multiple rapidly changing frequencies, the detector may not be able to detect the presence of hidden spy cameras.
The good news is that the bad guys don't install hidden cameras with complex frequent network signals because this type of hidden spy camera is much more expensive.
5. Check the mirrors in the room to find out the hidden camera
Remember to find hidden cameras in mirrors in toilets, changing rooms, or laboratories. As you probably know, some scary guys will install a hidden camera on the other side of the transparent mirror while the other side looks like a normal mirror.
How to find a hidden camera in a mirror?
There is a useful trick that can be used to examine this two-way mirror in the wardrobe, toilet, bathroom, etc.
1. Place your nails on the mirror.
2. Observe the gap between the finger and the mirror.
If there's a gap between your finger and the image, that's a real mirror. If your finger and the image touch the tip without gaps, there will be a hidden camera in the mirror.
You can also use this trick to know if there are hidden cameras in your hotel room while you travel.
6. Use the flashlight to find the hidden camera
One direct way to detect hidden cameras is to use a flashlight (which works best in dark conditions).
1. Turn on the flashlight and turn off the lights in the room.
2. Shake the flashlight around the room.
Take your time and check any suspicious locations from different angles. If you find that the object has any reflected light, there may be a hidden camera there.