A Canadian woman staying in an Airbnb with 14 other friends for a 30th birthday has described the terrifying moment they allegedly found a tiny camera hidden in the bathroom.
Kennedy Calwell said a friend had mentioned that she felt like there were cameras in the house and went searching despite the rest of them thinking she was paranoid.
“In the bathroom, one of the outlets was faced directly to the shower,” Calwell said in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than five million times in less than a week.
The video included a clip of what Calwell said was a faulty outlet that wasn’t working and in one of the holes it appeared there was a tiny camera.
Calwell said they “freaked out” and called the police, but were also embarrassed a camera could have caught them all showering the night before.
“We left the house, the cops searched the place and they got them [the cameras],” she said.
“Part of me was not convinced it was real and then they found the cameras.”
Text messages shown by Calwell said the cameras were being sent for analysis and an interview was scheduled with the property owners.
She later updated users in the comments.
“The owners of the house claimed they didn’t know anything about hidden cameras but they were renting the place out to someone.”
In her video, she concluded: “The moral of the story is, always check your outlets for cameras at your Airbnb and always listen to your super paranoid friends.”
Airbnb told Yahoo they were aware of the situation.
“We ban hidden cameras and we are investigating these allegations,” an Airbnb spokesperson said. “The guest who booked this reservation has received a full refund.”
TikTok users in the comments of Calwell’s video claimed they had been put off staying in Airbnbs due to stories like these.
“OMG my worst nightmare,” wrote one person.
“That’s disgusting OMG,” said another.
“Your friend’s intuition was on point! Wow,” a third person said.