EUROPEAN UNION · PRIVACY · SE
Sweden
Hidden camera in Sweden: emergency 112, local police, data protection authority and sourced legal guidance for a safe report.
Official contacts
Police · reporting and complaints
For a credible concern about intimate recording, stalking or threats, contact police where the incident occurred. The official site below directs you to their contacts and procedures. Online forms may be restricted to certain incidents and may not replace a complaint in person. Reporting to a host or platform is not a police complaint.
Polisen
Official websiteData protection · information and complaints
For questions about the use of images or a complaint within data protection law, consult the authority below. It does not replace emergency services or criminal investigation; its remit depends on the processing concerned.
Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten (IMY)
Official websiteNational rules to consult
This guidance reflects available official rules and recommendations, not a complete list of criminal offences or penalties. Disclosed security cameras and covert intimate recording are not equivalent. Sources may be in the country’s language.
IMY explains that the household exemption or GDPR applicability depends on what is captured and the surveillance purpose. A privately owned camera is not automatically exempt.
IMY — Video surveillance and the domestic purpose exemptionThe exemption must be interpreted narrowly and concerns only purely personal activities. According to IMY, surveillance connected with business activities, even in a building on one’s own property, falls under GDPR.
IMY — Video surveillance and the domestic purpose exemptionCriminal Code Chapter 4, Section 6a addresses unlawful, secret image capture of someone inside a dwelling, toilet, changing room or similar space. The text includes an exception where the act is justifiable considering its purpose and circumstances; public-authority activities have a specific regime.
Sveriges riksdag — Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 4, Section 6a
The European framework: GDPR, where applicable
Purpose and lawful basis
Recording identifiable people may constitute personal-data processing. Where GDPR applies, this must comply with the principles in Article 5 and a lawful basis under Article 6. Consent is not the only possible basis.
Information and proportionality
Where GDPR applies, Article 5 requires data minimisation and storage limitation, among other principles. Article 13 specifies information to provide when data are collected from the person. A sign does not automatically legitimise filming bedrooms, showers or toilets.
National law still matters
Article 2 includes an exemption for certain purely personal or household activities. It does not authorise all surveillance: national privacy, image or criminal laws may still apply even where GDPR does not.
Neither GDPR nor this guide can establish an offence from a reflection or a box alone. Airbnb rules are platform policies, separate from national laws and other hotels’ rules.
If you discover something suspicious
Get to safety
Stop using the intimate space and move somewhere safe. Do not confront anyone if it puts you at risk. For immediate threats, call emergency services.
Document only where safe
Note the position, date and observed facts. Keep bookings and messages. Do not dismantle the object or access its memory; never photograph nudity or occupied cubicles.
Ask for appropriate examination
Ask police how to preserve the device and report what happened. From a safe place, also contact the official booking channel or property. Keep evidence private and avoid public accusations.
Editorial check on 29 October 2026 · verification limits noted in the guides
An editorial summary from LYNX Scan, a detector seller; not legal advice or a single official protocol. Rules may change. No complaint outcome, refund or detector result is guaranteed. Ask the local authority or a lawyer about your situation.
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