SAFETY & REPORTING
Hidden camera or tracker: what to do
Found something suspicious? Your safety comes before collecting proof. These recommendations are tailored to the location, with sources and clear limitations.
Where did you find the object?
Your next steps
In a hotel or hostel
A security camera in a shared area is different from an object in a bedroom or bathroom.
Leave the suspect intimate space
Move to a safe place outside the affected room or toilets. If someone threatens you, contact local emergency services.
Document only if safe
Note the room number, position of the object, date and time. Keep your booking and messages. Leave the object in place for examination without accessing its files.
Notify safe management and the authorities
Contact official management or security without confronting a suspected person. Ask for the room to be preserved and a safe alternative. If you fear staff involvement, contact the authorities from another location.
Contact your booking intermediary
Also inform the platform or agency, keep its responses and ask about options for the rest of your stay. Changing rooms does not replace a possible police report.
Preserve evidence without putting yourself at risk
Only if it is safe. You do not have to prove that a device works before reporting a concern.
Record facts, not conclusions
Note the date, time, address, exact position and what you observed. Distinguish a suspicious object, a Bluetooth alert and an identified device. Keep relevant bookings, contracts, messages and alert screenshots.
Photograph only when safe
If the area is empty, photograph the object in place and its surroundings without handling it. Do not capture nudity, other people or an occupied neighbouring cubicle. In busy toilets, make written notes after leaving instead.
Leave examination to the authorities
Do not dismantle, reset or explore the object to investigate its contents. Do not remove its memory card or open recordings. Keep evidence private and share it with the authorities or the relevant official service, not on social media.
Who to contact
These numbers and procedures are explicitly limited to France or the European Union. Support services do not replace emergency response.
All EU countriesEmergency · France / European Union
17: urgent police or gendarmerie response in France. 112: emergencies in the European Union.
Accessible emergency help · France
114: accessible emergency assistance, including for deaf or hard-of-hearing people. If speaking would put you in danger or is impossible, you can send an SMS to 114 in France.
SMS · 114 · FranceNo immediate danger · France
Contact the local police station or gendarmerie. Describe the facts, ask how to preserve the object and, if you wish to file a formal complaint, which procedure applies. Reporting to a platform or manager is not a police complaint.
Victim support · Metropolitan France
116 006: support and referral every day, 9 am–8 pm. It is not an emergency number. From abroad: +33 1 80 52 33 76, at the same hours, Paris time.
116 006Guidance · Ma Sécurité
The official website offers a chat with a police officer or gendarme, 24/7. Chat does not replace an emergency call and does not, on its own, file a formal complaint.
Outside France
Contact local authorities and use the country’s emergency number. Your consulate and travel insurer may help with guidance; they do not replace local police. French rules do not automatically apply abroad.
A signal is not proof
- An RF alert, a reflection, an unusual object or a phone notification does not, by itself, confirm unlawful surveillance. Report what you know without making public accusations.
- Apple and Android can alert you to certain compatible Bluetooth trackers. They do not detect every GPS tracker, SIM-based device or built-in vehicle system. A search with no results is not a guarantee.
- Airplane mode or turning off your phone’s Bluetooth does not necessarily stop a tracker’s owner from locating it. Before following official disabling instructions, consider your safety and preserving evidence.
- This guide is sourced editorial guidance, not technical confirmation from LYNX Scan or individual legal advice. Compensation, relocation or the outcome of a complaint is not guaranteed.
The legal position depends on the country and the facts
In France, article 226-1 of the Criminal Code covers, among other things, recording or transmitting without consent the image of a person in a private place. Seeing an object is not enough to establish an offence. A venue being open to the public does not mean its toilets provide no privacy. The authorities assess the facts; Airbnb policies are platform rules, separate from the law.
Sources and scope
Priority is given to public services, legislation and official platform policies. Personal-safety advice also draws on NNEDV Safety Net, a US organization specializing in victim safety. Some sources are in French.
Sources consulted on 29 October 2026
- Read source
[1] NNEDV · Safety Net
Cameras: personal safety and preserving evidence
United States · specialist victim-safety organization
- Read source
[2] Airbnb
Policy on security cameras and recording devices
Platform policy · separate from local law
- Read source
[3] Airbnb · Assistance sécurité
Report a safety issue to Airbnb
Official safety reporting channel
- Read source
[4] Service Public
Contacting the police or gendarmerie
France · police, gendarmerie and emergencies
- Read source
[5] Ministère de l’Intérieur · Ma Sécurité
Chat with a police officer or gendarme
France · guidance from police or gendarmerie
- Read source
[6] Légifrance · Code pénal, article 226-1
Infringement of privacy
France · legislation, application depends on the facts
- Read source
[7] Service Public · Aide aux victimes
116 006: victim support
Metropolitan France · support and referral, not emergency response
- Read source
[8] Service Public
Domestic violence: emergency help, reporting and support
France · official service
- Read source
[9] NNEDV · Safety Net
Location tracking: risks and precautions before making changes
United States · specialist victim-safety organization
- Read source
[10] NNEDV · Safety Net
Connected cars: documenting tracking and requesting an inspection
United States · victim safety, connected vehicles
- Read source
[11] Apple
Detect unwanted trackers
Technical documentation · compatible Bluetooth trackers
- Read source
[12] Google · Android Help
Find unknown trackers with Android alerts
Technical documentation · compatible Bluetooth trackers
- Read source
[13] CNIL
Connected vehicles: how your data is used
France · data protection authority