this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026

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Privacy

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Q: how to detect hidden cams and mics? (programming.dev)

submitted 19 hours ago by somegeek@programming.dev to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hi people.

I suspect my office might be bugged. How should I detect hidden cams and mics?

all 20 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] Captainautism@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Fing does this if you’re a premium user.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 15 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Get a FLIR capable camera and scan for heat sources

Ulefone Armor are relatively cheap phones with that capability, and they're fun too

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 hours ago

Amazon has some no name brands for not insane money. But used you can get actual flir stuff for pretty cheap. Especially those phone attachment cameras. Just know as “technology progresses” they might stop working with new OS versions.

[+] dendrite_soup@lemmy.ml 47 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (3 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] aMockTie@piefed.world 25 points 17 hours ago

Check smoke detectors, clocks, plants near desks, anything that's always been there and nobody questions.

To add to this as someone who has seen behind the curtain of how much of this tech is set up, lights are a common hiding place for cameras. Exit signs, parking lot lights, motion sensor lights, and the like. These are unfortunately also very difficult to detect by design, since they are expected to consume electricity, are almost always closed circuit with data wires parallel to the power wires, are practically impossible to observe in low light, and generate some heat even without any included surveillance equipment.

[–] Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

deleted by moderator

Hmmm.... Someone didn't want the truth out there....

[–] somegeek@programming.dev 6 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Should we ask the mods why they removed it? It was a very good answer!

[–] notfromhere@lemmy.ml 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Looks like that user’s comments were all mod deleted. Maybe it’s a bot account? No idea

[–] Lemmchen@feddit.org 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It was the account that posted about Huntarrr yesterday or so and suggested measures against something like that which wouldn't have been effective in the slightest. Everyone suspected them to be an AI account.

[–] FineCoatMummy@sh.itjust.works 7 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I don't know if it was a bot account or not. Maybe? If it was, I got fooled by it once. It replied to one of my posts in another thread. I felt the reply was insightful and made a valid point. Of course, it could still have been a bot. Or maybe a person falsely accused as a bot? I legit have no idea.

I worry that over time it will get harder and harder to detect bots by content, and attempts to do that based on meta-info will further erode privacy. It always risks sweeping up real humans. Especially those with a more formal writing style. I have changed my own writing style to try to avoid that. As somebody on the spectrum I always wrote with a very bullet-list style, sometimes even using sub-heading in longer posts to structure them. That is exactly what bots do. So I now I don't!

There are "LLM detectors", but those have poor accuracy. then there are "humanizers" who try to modify writing to avoid triggering the LLM detectors. It's a mess.

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Lemmy ML admins instance banned it under AI account so looks like it.

[–] somegeek@programming.dev 10 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

Thank you for your thorough answer. The bad actors I worry about aren't the employers.

[–] ageedizzle@piefed.ca 13 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Who are they (if you feel continue sharing)? It sounds like there’s a story here

[–] somegeek@programming.dev 10 points 14 hours ago

One of the owners thinks one of the business partners that comes in their office might have bugged the office. They get lots of unattended time there, and they're a shady and bad person overall so it's probable.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 7 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

More likely your phone is listening.

[–] somegeek@programming.dev 9 points 9 hours ago

Not for the actors I'm currently worried about. My phone is definitely bugged by govt. And being monitored but this is a more direct threat right now and the actors aren't the type to bug a phone.

[–] makeitwonderful@lemmy.today 16 points 18 hours ago

There are camera and radio detecting devices available.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Hire a private investigator that owns all of the tools

[–] somegeek@programming.dev 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Don't know such person.

[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

They advertise and are professionally licensed. Many specialize in counter-surveillance.

Other then the advice to "look", theres not much you can do.

To do this in a way that will locate well-hidden devices you should hire a professional who owns the right tools.

Otherwise, install kismet and monitor for unknown BLE and wifi signals and use video surveillance to detect people attempting to remove passive devices.

You won't be able to locate devices that use other wireless technology without specialized tools.

If this is a serious worry then hire a professional