Myth-busting tech spying in rentals

 There are just scads of videos, posts, and articles dedicated to "outing" those bad apple property owners and managers that use technology on their properties to spy on and "steal" from guests and renters.

I'm not saying that it doesn't happen.  Of course it happens. But, does it happen on the scale and commonality in which it is reported?

The factual answer is no.

I so a lot if work in short-term and long term rental properties as well as apartment complexes.  I install, configure and integrate  video and audio detection and recording devices, alarm systems, monitoring systems,  and access systems in the vast majority of these properties to some degree.

The klaxxons sounding on behalf of property owners "collecting" video and audio illicitly for some nefarious purpose is overblown to the point of absurdity.   Which only serves to help the few actual bad apples that are doing such shenanigans.

Property owners and managers,  by and large install such devices primarily for two purposes;  the first, to provide additional features and benefits for guests that are in demand,  and second, to protect themselves from liability, and for protection, usually on demand or "encouragement" from insurance companies. 

For every bad apple property owner or manager,  there are, in my experience,  about 10 bad apple guests.  This goes from the "nitpickers" who claim to be dissatisfied with virtually everything in an effort to gain maximum refunds or discounts of their stay,  to those who cause physical damage to property, steal, do things explicitly unapproved of, etc...

There are video and audio capture devices such as cameras, microphones, and various types of  sensors built into tv's, monitors, doorbells, alarms, etc...

They are usually installed by the companies that make such things to collect information to provide an improved experience in some manner, to the customer.  Fairly innocuous and mostly beneficial out if the box.

For the majority that are ethical companies that produce these things and the property owners and managers that implement them, it remains innocuous and beneficial.  For the unethical ones out there, they might try to use the information collected to third parties or even provide access to government agencies.

Let's not forget the possibility of third parties who hack the devices illicitly without the knowledge or permission of the manufacturer or owners.

It's really not so much that those things likely  "will" happen, which they usually don't,  as much as being intellectually honest enough to admit they "can" happen and can be mitigated, if not outright prevented,  with some prior planning and preparation.

The smart handyman needs to be educated and foresighted enough to educate and inform property owners and managers on the potential for the misuse of the devices by bad apples and on ways to mitigate and prevent that from happening.   Ethical operators WILL have or implement a plan for such things.

The better the implementation,  the better the guests and owners are protected from bad apples that make things look worse than they actually are and create "boy that cried wolf" scenarios that only help bad apples hide.