Finding hidden spy cameras using just your smartphone

What is it about?

Hidden spy cameras are a major threat to our privacy. Malicious individuals can cheaply purchase such cameras and easily conceal them. We develop a tool for the public to fight back: an app for your smartphone (if it has a time-of-flight sensor) to locate these hidden cameras. This work also shows that these time-of-flight sensors can be used for a broader range of problems than they originally designed for.

Featured Image

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

Why is it important?

It's much easier to hide a hidden camera than to find it. Our work attempts to reverse this trend using technology that we carry with us everyday - our smartphones. This is necessary, as commercially available "hidden camera detectors" are prone to false positives, require manual human judgement, and have usability concerns.