12 People Who Accidentally Found Hidden Cameras in Places Where They Shouldn’t Be

It’s unsettling to think that someone might be watching you without your knowledge, especially in spaces where privacy is expected. However, for some people, this nightmare became a reality when they stumbled upon hidden cameras in the most unexpected places.

• "I was regifted a plastic cactus figurine by a coworker. When I was going to bed, I accidentally kicked the cactus over and found a spy cam inside. I asked my coworker about it, and she was freaked out because a guy that made her uncomfortable had gifted it to her a few weeks earlier. She apologized for giving it to me. I tossed it." featoutsider / Reddit
• "My ex-husband and I had been separated for a few months, and I was getting ready to go out to eat with my cousin. As soon as I got dressed, my phone rang, and it was the ex-hubby wanting to know where I was going dressed like that and my brown boots would look better. (He bought or approved all of my clothes when we were married and told me what to wear when we went out)
  I found cameras in almost every room of the house. He owned a security alarm business, so I assumed there would be one or two, but not that he would be watching me all the time." Liv0613 / Reddit
• "I come from a large family (5 boys and 5 girls.). As you can imagine, things get loud and raucous pretty easily. One night, my sister and I saw my dad discretely put a recording machine on top of the Fridge. When dinner started, we started being the most obviously polite kids: "Sister dear, would you be kind enough to pass the potatoes?" "Of course, brother dear. May I refresh your water for you?"
  It only took a couple of minutes before my dad stomped over to the fridge and took down the recorder. "I was hoping to show you all how bad you behave. Well, so much for that. Shape up and start acting like civilized people." My sister and I still laugh about that." Matthewrmt / Reddit
• My favorite local café was always my go-to spot until I noticed a small device tucked under the sink in the restroom. At first, I thought it was some kind of air freshener, but when I looked closer, it had a tiny lens on it. I showed it to the owner, who was horrified, and immediately called the police.
  Turns out, someone had planted it without their knowledge. The café owner installed extra security cameras in public areas to prevent it from happening again, but I haven’t felt comfortable going back.

• "My mom set up a hidden camera in my son's room at her place to spy on me while I visit him there because she thinks I'm 'up to something'. She was asked by our social worker to take it down, but they couldn't do much because it's a private residence, and she's apparently within her legal rights to keep it there.
  So the worker organized for all visits to be at my place instead because she refused to be accommodating and make me feel welcome. Mom was not happy, worker finally gets what I mean when I say my parents hate me." kadesc / Reddit
• I was staying in a budget hotel for a work trip. One night, while lying in bed, I noticed the smoke detector on the ceiling seemed to have a faint blinking light. Curious, I got up and inspected it. To my shock, it was a hidden camera disguised as part of the detector.
  The worst part? It was positioned directly over the bed. I reported it to the front desk, and their nonchalant response made my stomach churn. They said they'd 'look into it,' but I checked out immediately. I still wonder how long it had been there and how many people were recorded before me.
• "This is a little different. We lived next door to my dad’s parents. They had a key to our house because his dad would often come and let our dogs out. Well, we started noticing weird things go missing like a box of cereal, $5, just small things like that.
  So my dad set up a hidden camera in our kitchen to see if it was his dad, and sure enough, it was. One day he came into the house, stuffed his pockets full of dog treats, and left. We eventually changed the locks and didn’t give him a key." Lyssann24 / Reddit
• "I didn't actually find the cameras, but my younger brother found the recordings. My stepfather had set up some cams with terrible quality, mostly for audio and not to watch. My older brother later confirmed it and told me mum found them and told my stepfather to take them down.
  I don't know if he did. It made me extremely paranoid for a while." hackipeter / Reddit

• "My dad did this to my mom right after he moved out. When they decided to split, he had cameras and mics hidden throughout the house, it took her disconnecting the internet to stop it. This was how he found out she was talking to a divorce attorney. He quickly got one himself and started covering his tracks and finally got all the cameras out, he kept saying it was to protect the house." Dragonshock / Reddit
• "Boyfriend and I once stayed in a hotel while on vacation in another state. While relaxing and getting settled down for the night, we noticed a wire coming out from behind the TV (like an antenna). We investigated, and it wasn’t attached to the TV, instead, it went into a hole drilled into the dresser, and the drawer it was drilled into was jammed shut.
  We forced it open and saw a tiny camera pointing out another hole drilled in the front of the drawer. We covered the camera up and mentioned it to the manager the next morning as we were checking out. They called the police and apparently, the police had used that room a few days prior for a case, and they forgot to remove the camera.
  The cord sticking out from behind the TV would have been connected to a memory bank and power pack of some sort. It was a scary experience. We talk and laugh about that often." Unknown author / Reddit
• My friends and I rented a beach house for a long weekend. While rearranging furniture to make more space, one of us noticed a camera hidden in a fake plant by the window. It was pointed right at the couch where we’d been hanging out.
  When we called the owner, they insisted it was to monitor the view outside. We weren’t convinced and left immediately.
• When I was 20 in the early '80s, I moved back in with my parents due to poor decisions and became a disappointment to my dad. One morning, he woke me up, ranting about my behavior and mentioning things he shouldn't have known. I realized he might be tapping the phone.
  Later, a friend called, spilling details about our plans that night. Panicked, I checked my dad's office and found a tape recorder hooked to the phone line. I rewound the tape just before he got home and then recorded over it with another call.
  He never mentioned it, so I assumed I got away with it. Afterward, I warned my friends not to discuss anything suspicious on the phone again. My dad likely figured it out but said nothing.

This Bright Side reader shared a story of how her privacy was intruded. Her MIL demanded to have a spare key to the house, so she put a security camera to keep an eye on her. Read more here.