Airbnb’s Comprehensive Ban on Indoor Security Cameras: Safeguarding Privacy for Guests

Security Cameras

Security Cameras airbnb has finally made a change that will require some hosts to alter their properties. On Monday, the short-term rental service announced that it will now prohibit the use of all indoor security cameras, regardless of their location within the place. Previously, hosts could install video cameras only in so-called “common areas,” which include living rooms, kitchens, and hallways, provided they were both clearly visible and disclosed in the listings. Starting with April 30, no devices of the kind will be permitted in the course of the United States and around the world .
Airbnb’s head of community policy and partnerships, has stated that the policy change sought to offer new, clear rules for hosts and guests and . Privacy advocates, who have long feared what footage could be captured even in Airbnb “common spaces,” are cheering the news.
“No one should have to worry about being recorded in a rental,” Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the civil rights watchdog nonprofit, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project in a public statement. STOP has been putting pressure on Airbnb directly about this particular policy shift since 2020. Cahn also is in a public statement, citing the ease of manipulating recording devices.
Per the company, most Airbnb locales do not currently regulate indoor security cameras, so the planned policy update will only affect a minority of bookings. Though the company will no longer authorize indoor video cameras, Airbnb will still allow other monitoring devices in rental places based on certain conditions. For example, doorbell and outdoor cameras are still permitted as long as they are disclosed to guests and are not facing into a home. Additionally, cameras are not allowed in outdoor zones with “a higher expectation of privacy,” like a sauna or the outdoor shower by a pool.
There are other devices which hosts have access to, such as decibel monitors, which are becoming more popular as they are designed to discourage unauthorized parties from taking place on the premises. However, the devices must only test the sound levels of the space and not have any other functionality, such as recording or transmitting audio. After the 30th of April, guests may report any host that continues to violate the new rules and their listing and account may be permanently removed as a result.