I discovered a hidden camera in our Airbnb bedroom. It was midnight.
My husband covered it with a towel, and we went to sleep.
At 2 a.m., the door burst open.
The Airbnb owner stormed in, furious, screaming, “You idiots, this is a fire alarm indicator! Why would you cover it?!”
My husband and I bolted upright, stunned.
“Wait,” I said slowly, trying to process, “if it’s just a fire alarm… how did you know we covered it?”
The room went dead silent.
The owner froze, his face twitching as if he hadn’t expected the question.
“Uh… there’s a signal. Yeah, a system alert when it’s blocked,” he stammered.
“A system alert at 2 a.m.? That made you barge in without knocking?” my husband asked, voice firm now.
The man’s eyes darted toward the ceiling, then to the door. He was sweating.
That’s when I pulled out my phone. Earlier, when I first spotted the “device,” I’d taken photos. Zooming in now, the label on the black plastic square didn’t say “Smoke Detector.” It had no manufacturer name at all — just a tiny, near-invisible lens peeking out from a pinhole.
“Then explain this,” I said, showing him the picture. “This isn’t a smoke alarm. It’s a camera. A wireless one.”
The owner’s mouth opened… then shut.
He turned and ran.
But my husband was already dialing the police.
And while we waited, we quietly removed the rest of the vents, clocks, and suspicious fixtures in the room — discovering two more hidden lenses.