The Dark Side of Hotel Privacy: Hidden Cameras and Exploitation

Sat Feb 07 2026 00:18:24 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The Dark Side of Hotel Privacy: Hidden Cameras and Exploitation

In an alarming case from Shenzhen, a couple discovers their intimate moments captured by hidden cameras in a hotel room, exposing the troubling rise of spy-cam pornography in China.

Eric and his girlfriend experienced the horror of finding their private moments streamed online without consent after a stay at a hotel in Shenzhen. This incident sheds light on the pervasive issue of spy-cam pornography, which continues to thrive despite laws against such practices in China. As awareness grows, survivors face new challenges in removing non-consensual content from the internet.

One night in 2023, Eric was scrolling on a social media channel he regularly browsed for porn. Seconds into a video, he froze.

He realized the couple he was watching - entering the room, setting down their bags, and later, having sex - was himself and his girlfriend. Three weeks earlier, they had spent the night in a hotel in Shenzhen, southern China, unaware that they were not alone.

Their most intimate moments had been captured by a camera hidden in their hotel room, and the footage made available to thousands of strangers who had logged in to the channel Eric himself used to access pornography.

Eric (not his real name) was no longer just a consumer of China's spy-cam porn industry, but a victim.

So-called spy-cam porn has existed in China for at least a decade, despite the fact that producing and distributing porn is illegal in the country. But in the past couple of years, the issue has become a regular talking point on social media, with people - particularly women - swapping tips on how to spot cameras as small as a pencil eraser. Some have even resorted to pitching tents inside hotel rooms to avoid being filmed.

Last April, new government regulations attempted to stem this epidemic - requiring hotel owners to check regularly for hidden cameras. But the threat of being secretly filmed in the privacy of a hotel room has not gone away. The BBC World Service has found thousands of recent spy-cam videos filmed in hotel rooms and sold as porn, on multiple sites.

Much of the material is advertised on the messaging and social media app Telegram. Over 18 months, I discovered six different websites and apps promoted on Telegram. Between them these claimed to operate more than 180 hotel-room spy-cams which were not just capturing, but livestreaming, hotel guests' activities.

Eric, from Hong Kong, began watching secretly filmed videos as a teenager, attracted by how raw the footage was. But he experienced what it feels like to be at the opposite end of the supply chain when he found the video of himself and his girlfriend Emily - and he no longer finds gratification in this content.

When he broke the news to Emily that their hotel stay had been filmed, she thought he was joking. But then she saw the footage for herself and was mortified.

Emily was terrified the clip could have been seen by colleagues and family. The couple didn't talk to each other for weeks.

During an 18-month investigation, the BBC identified about a dozen agents like AKA who profit from the illegal sharing of spy-cam footage. Evidence suggests the supply chain is extensive, involving individuals who install these cameras and manage the streaming platforms. Financially, this enterprise proves lucrative, with estimates indicating significant earnings for those involved.

Eric and Emily remain traumatized by their experience. They always wear hats in public in case they are recognized and try to avoid staying in hotels. Eric no longer uses these Telegram channels to watch porn, he says, but still checks them occasionally - terrified the clip could resurface.