Editing Hidden camera

{{Short description|Type of surveillance camera}}
{{For|the music group|The Hidden Cameras}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{globalize|date=December 2010}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2008}}
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[[File:Lens of Mini Camcorder.jpg|300px|thumbnail|8 mm × 8 mm lens with a built-in image sensor, used for a mini camcorder]]

A '''hidden camera''' or '''spy camera''' is a [[camera]] used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another object. Hidden cameras are often considered a [[surveillance]] tool.

The term "hidden camera" is commonly used when subjects are unaware that they are being recorded, usually lacking their knowledge and consent; the term "spy camera" is generally used when the subject would object to being recorded if they were aware of the camera's presence. In contrast, the phrase "[[Closed-circuit television|security camera]]" refers to cameras that are visible and/or are accompanied by a warning notice of their presence, so the subject is aware of the camera's presence and knows they are being filmed.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The use of hidden cameras raises personal privacy issues. There may be legal aspects to consider, depending on the jurisdiction in which they are used.

==Description==
A hidden camera can be [[Wired communication|wired]] or [[wireless]]. Hidden cameras are connected, by cable or wirelessly, to a viewing or recording device, such as a [[television]], [[computer]], [[videocassette recorder]], [[network video recorder]], [[digital video recorder]], [[memory card]], or another data storage medium. They may also store their images or recordings online, such as through a [[Livestreaming|livestream]]. Hidden video cameras may or may not have audio recording capabilities. Hidden cameras may be activated manually, remotely, or through motion detection.

A hidden camera may not be visible to the subject, for example, because it is fitted with a [[long-focus lens]] and located beyond the view of the subject, or because it is obscured or hidden by an object, such as a [[one-way mirror]]. Hidden cameras can be built into a wide variety of items, ranging from electronics ([[television set]]s, [[smoke detector]]s, [[clock]]s, [[motion detector]]s, [[mobile phone]]s, [[personal computer]]s) to everyday objects where electronics are not expected to be found ([[stationery]], [[plant]]s, [[glasses]], [[clothing]], [[street light]]s<ref name="qz">{{cite news |last1=Rohrlich |first1=Justin |last2=Gershgorn |first2=Dave |date=November 9, 2018 |title=The DEA and ICE are hiding surveillance cameras in streetlights |publisher=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |url=https://qz.com/1458475/the-dea-and-ice-are-hiding-surveillance-cameras-in-streetlights/ |access-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112223618/https://qz.com/1458475/the-dea-and-ice-are-hiding-surveillance-cameras-in-streetlights/ |url-status=live }}</ref>).

== Use ==
Common applications for hidden cameras are property security, personal surveillance, [[photography]], or [[entertainment]] purposes, though they may also be used for [[espionage]] or surveillance by [[law enforcement]], [[intelligence agencies]], [[investigative journalist]]s, [[corporation]]s, or other entities. They may also be used for illegal activity, such as criminal scope-outs, [[stalking]], or [[voyeurism]].

Hidden cameras may be installed within common household objects for parents to monitor and record the activities of [[Nanny|nannies]] and sometimes the children themselves. These hidden cameras are commonly referred to as "nanny cams". The use nanny cams can be a subject of controversy. For example, a 2003 criminal case in [[Florida]], involving a nanny that was allegedly caught by a nanny cam violently shaking a baby, was thrown out in 2006 when the video was considered "worthless evidence"; however, this was due to issues regarding video quality, not legality, and several earlier cases used clearer nanny cam footage as evidence.<ref>{{cite news |date=21 March 2006 |title=Nanny Cleared of Violently Shaking Baby |website=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=1749672 |access-date=28 June 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806132314/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LegalCenter/story?id=1749672 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some hidden camera television shows have also led to lawsuits or the cancellation of episodes by the people who were trapped in set-ups that they found unpleasant. {{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

Hidden cameras are sometimes placed in holiday rental apartments such as those advertised on [[Airbnb]]. Questions have been raised about the safety and privacy of holidaymakers in these circumstances.<ref>{{cite news|title=How to spot hidden cameras in Airbnb rental properties|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/spot-airbnb-hidden-cameras-b2453965.html|first=Helen|last=Coffey|date=27 November 2023|newspaper=Independent}}</ref>

==In media==
{{Indiscriminate list|section|date=October 2022}}
Hidden cameras are sometimes used in [[Reality television#Hidden cameras|reality television]] and [[social media]], where they are used to catch participants in unusual or absurd situations. Participants will either know they will be filmed, but not always exactly when or where; or they will not know they have been filmed until later, at which point they may sign a release or give consent to the footage being produced for a show. This latter subgenre of unwitting participants began in the 1940s with [[Allen Funt]]'s ''[[Candid Camera|Candid Microphone]]'' theatrical short films.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Examples of use of hidden cameras in television shows
|-
! Show Name !! Channel !! Years of Production !! Number of Episodes
|-
| ''[[$25 Million Dollar Hoax]]''|| [[NBC]]|| 2004|| 3
|-
| ''[[Animal Kidding]]''|| [[Animal Planet]]|| 2003|| 16
|-
| ''[[Balls of Steel (TV series)|Balls of Steel]]'' || [[Channel 4]] || 2005 || 19
|-
| ''[[Beadle's About]]'' || [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] || 1986–1996 || 94
|-
| ''[[Boiling Points]]'' || [[MTV]] || 2003–2005 ||
|-
| ''[[Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty]]'' || [[Oxygen (TV channel)|Oxygen]] || 2006 || 14
|-
| ''[[Burned (TV series)|Burned]]'' || MTV || 2003 || 30
|-
| ''[[Buzzkill (TV series)|Buzzkill]]'' || MTV || 1995 ||
|-
| ''[[Candid Camera]]'' || ABC/NBC/CBS/PAX || 1948–1954, 1960–1967, 1987–1988, 1996–2004 || 1,000+
|-
| ''[[The Carbonaro Effect]]'' || truTV || 2014 || 27
|-
| ''[[Celebrity Undercover]]'' || MTV || || 20
|-
| ''[[Cheaters (American TV series)|Cheaters]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[Crossballs: The Debate Show]]'' || [[Comedy Central]] || ||
|-
| ''[[Da Ali G Show]]'' || [[Channel 4]] || ||
|-
| ''[[Damage Control (TV series)|Damage Control]]'' || MTV || 2005 || 16
|-
| ''[[Dirty Sexy Funny: Olivia Lee]]'' || [[Comedy Central UK]] || || 8
|-
| ''[[Faking the Video]]'' || MTV || 2004 || 7
|-
| ''[[Fire Me...Please]]'' || CBS || 2005 || 4
|-
| ''[[Fool Britannia]]'' || ITV || 2012 ||
|-
| ''[[Fool Canada]]'' || CBC || 2015 ||
|-
| ''[[Freak Out (TV series)|Freak Out]]'' || Freeform || 2014–2015 ||
|-
| ''[[Funny Business (TV series)|Funny Business]]'' || ||
|-
| ''[[Girls Behaving Badly]]'' || Oxygen || 2002–2007 || 72
|-
| ''[[Guys Behaving Badly]]'' || Oxygen || 2005 || 5
|-
| ''[[Hi-Jinks]]'' || NIK || 2005 ||
|-
| ''[[Hidden Howie: The Private Life of a Public Nuisance]]'' || BRAVO || 2005 || 6
|-
| ''[[Impractical Jokers]]'' || [[truTV]] || 2011– || 143
|-
| ''[[Infarto]]'' || [[Azteca América]] || 2005 ||
|-
| ''[[Instant Recall]]'' || GSN || 2010 || 8
|-
| ''[[Invasion of the  Hidden Cameras (When Hidden Cameras Attack)]]'' || FOX || || 12
|-
| ''[[I'm Spazticus]]'' || [[Channel 4]] || 2012– || 10
|-
| ''[[Jamie Kennedy Experiment]]'' || WB || 2003 ||
|-
| ''[[Just for Laughs Gags]]'' || || 2000 || 3,000+
|-
| ''[[Just Kidding (TV series)|Just Kidding]]'' || || 2012 ||
|-
| ''[[Kids Behaving Badly]]'' || Oxygen || 2005 || 10
|-
| ''Laugh Out Loud''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnet.co.za/lol/|title=Laugh out Loud|publisher=[[M-Net]]|access-date=2008-01-06}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> || [[M-Net]] || ||
|-
| ''[[Meet the Marks]]'' || FOX || 2002 || 7
|-
| ''[[MotorMouth]]'' || VH1 || ||
|-
| ''[[My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[Naked Camera]]'' || [[RTÉ Two]] || 2005–2007 || 18
|-
| ''[[Oblivious (UK TV series)|Oblivious]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[People Traps]]'' || Animal Planet || 2002 || 1
|-
| ''[[Peter Jacobsen Plugged In]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[Punk'd]]'' || MTV || 2003–2007, 2012 || 6
|-
| ''[[PrankStars]]'' || Disney Channel || 2011–2016 || 6 
|-
| ''[[Que Locura]]'' || [[Venevisión]] || 2001 ||
|-
| ''[[Rank the Prank]]'' || CBBC || 2016 || 11 |
|-
| ''[[ROOM 401]]'' || MTV || 2007 ||
|-
| ''[[The Real Wedding Crashers]]'' || NBC || 2007 || 6
|-
| ''[[Really Naked Truth]]'' || Playboy || || 22
|-
| ''[[Red Handed (TV series)|Red Handed]]'' || UPN || 1999 ||
|-
| ''[[Red Light Districts]]'' || [[NBCSN|Outdoor Life Network]] || 2003–2004 || 14
|-
| ''[[Scare Tactics]]'' || [[Syfy]] || 2003 ||
|-
| ''[[Show Me the Funny]]'' || FOX || 1998 || 155
|-
| ''[[Skunked TV]]'' || NBC || 2004 || 13
|-
| ''[[Sledgehammer (TV series)|Sledgehammer]]'' || VH1 || 2001 || 5
|-
| ''[[Spy TV]]'' || NBC || 2001 || 27
|-
| ''[[Taxicab Confessions]]'' || HBO || 1995 ||
|-
| ''[[That's Funny]]'' || || 2004 || 80
|-
| ''[[THEM (TV series)|Totally Hidden Extreme Magic]]'' || NBC || || 2
|-
| ''[[Totally Busted]]'' || PlayboyTV || 2003 ||
|-
| ''[[Totally Hidden Video]]'' || FOX || 1989 ||
|-
| ''[[Tourist Traps]]'' || || 2001 || 6
|-
| ''[[Trapped in TV Guide]]'' || TVG || 2006 ||
|-
| ''[[Trigger Happy TV]]'' || || UK 2000/US 2003 || 13
|-
| ''[[TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[Ultimate Revenge]]'' || TNN/SPIKE || 2001 || 26
|-
| ''[[Videomatch]]''|| [[Telefé]] ([[Argentina]])||1991–2004||
|-
| ''[[What Would You Do? (2008 TV program)|What Would You Do?]]'' || ABC || since 2009 ||
|-
| ''[[World Shut Your Mouth (TV series)|World Shut Your Mouth]]'' || BBC || 2005 || 7
|-
| ''[[Walk the Prank]]'' || Disney XD || 2016 ||
|-
| ''[[Wow Mali]]/[[Wow Mali|Wow Mali Pa Rin!]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mb.com.ph/the-wow-in-wow-mali/|title=The wow in 'Wow Mali'|author=Jeffrey Espiritu|author-link=Mr. Fu|publisher=[[Manila Bulletin]]|access-date=2013-09-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130912045818/http://www.mb.com.ph/the-wow-in-wow-mali/|archive-date=2013-09-12}}</ref> || [[TV5 (Philippine TV network)|TV5]] || since 1996 ||
|-
| ''[[You're On!]]'' || Nickelodeon || 1998 ||
|-
| ''[[You've Got a Friend (My New Best Friend)]]'' || MTV || 2004 || 8
|}

==Legal issues==

=== South Korea ===
{{main|Molka}}

In South Korea, hidden cameras (abbreviated to ''Molka'' in Korean) proliferated in the 2010s and enabled the spread of voyeuristic images and videos. The term ''Molka'' can refer to both the actual cameras as well as the footage posted online.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Jenna |title=K-Pop's Sexual Assault Scandal Is the Tip of the Iceberg |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/21/k-pops-sexual-assault-scandal-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/ |access-date=2019-06-08 |website=Foreign Policy |date=21 March 2019 |archive-date=2019-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330065939/https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/21/k-pops-sexual-assault-scandal-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Christian |first1=Aaron |title=CCTV Camera Installation |url=https://okami.co.th/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3/%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B1%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%94/ |access-date=28 June 2024}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
The use of hidden cameras is generally permitted under UK law, if used in a legal manner and towards legitimate ends. Individuals may use covert surveillance in their own home, in the workplace for [[employee monitoring]], outside of a domestic or commercial property for security purposes and in security situations where there may be a need to do so. There are a number of laws under the [[Data Protection Act 2018|Data Protection Act]] and [[Human Rights Act 1998|Human Rights Acts]] that may affect the use of hidden cameras.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Francis |first=Harry |title=Are Workplace Security Cameras Legal |url=https://www.gotobuuy.com/blog/post/Are-Workplace-Security-Cameras-Legal |access-date=2018-10-24 |publisher=[[Employee Monitoring]]}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

In any type of covert surveillance, footage should only be used for the purpose for which it has been taken, which must be a legitimate security reason. The person in possession of the footage is responsible for its use, and must only retain footage for as long as it is reasonably needed. It is not permitted to release the footage to third parties except when there is a legal necessity.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

It is illegal under UK law to deploy covert cameras in areas where individuals would have an expectation of privacy, such as bathrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms. It is also illegal to place hidden cameras in someone else's home or on someone else's property.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== United States ===
In the United States, the purchase, ownership, and use of hidden cameras and nanny cams is generally considered legal in all 50 states. However, [[Title 18 of the United States Code|U.S. Code Title 18]], Chapter 119, Section 2512 prohibits the interception of oral communication by "surreptitious manner" such as a hidden recording device, and so most hidden video cameras are not available with audio recording.<ref>[[Title 18 of the United States Code|U.S. Code Title 18]], Chapter 119, Section 2512</ref> Additionally, it is [[Telephone call recording laws#United States|illegal in 13 states]] to record audio without express or written consent of the nanny being recorded. Despite this, some hidden cameras are still sold in the United States with audio recording capabilities, though their use is illegal and their recordings cannot legally be used as evidence.{{fact|date=May 2023}}

==See also==

* [[Secret photography]]
* [[Closed-circuit television]]
* [[Dashcam]]
* [[Video door-phone]]
* ''[[The Truman Show]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Spy cameras}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hidden Camera}}
[[Category:Hidden camera television series| ]]
[[Category:Cameras]]
[[Category:Recording]]
[[Category:Television genres]]