AIRBNB BANS INDOOR CAMERAS IN RENTALS

The world’s largest rental accommodation platform has announced that in a bid to simplify its security policy while prioritising its clients’ privacy, rentals will not be allowed to include indoor cameras.

The rule should take effect by the end of April and it will be implemented worldwide.

Juniper Downs, Airbnb’s head of community policy and partnerships, said in a statement that “these changes were made in consultation with guests, hosts and privacy experts”.

Downs also said that the company will “continue to seek feedback to help ensure their policies work for their global community”.

Up until now, Airbnb had given the go-ahead for indoor security cameras in common areas like living rooms and hallways. This was allowed on the condition that the locations of the cameras were disclosed on the rental’s listings page.

Come 1 May, hosts will still be allowed to use doorbell cameras and noise-decibel monitors in common spaces.

This decision and policy change comes after Airbnb guests reported finding hidden cameras in the places they rented.

According to the statement, it should only affect a small number of hosts. The majority of Airbnb listings do not report having indoor security cameras.

Airbnb has made it clear that should a host be found to violate the new policy, they risk losing their Airbnb account.

Image credit: Safe Wise