Concealing a surveillance camera can be trickier than you might think. If you want to keep your camera out of sight and avoid rousing any suspicion, you’ll need to know a few tricks as well as the main mistakes to avoid. The worst places to hide a camera Whatever you do, don’t fall foul of these rookie camera-hiding mistakes:

  • Behind a peculiarly placed mirror. If the person or people in question have any sense (or have experience of hidden cameras) then they’re bound to be suspicious of a mirror that has no business in being there. For example, a mirror at completely the wrong height or in a room that already has a mirror or lots of mirrors.
  • Nestled in a rearranged cluster of objects. If you’ve moved things around, it may be obvious due to the dust you’ve disturbed. Some groupings can also look unnatural, or as if they are obviously trying to hide something.
  • Right at eye level or where the lens may catch the light. The rest of the camera is easy to hide, but the sparkly, light-reflecting lens can give the game away if you aren’t careful. Position your camera above eye level, angling it carefully to get the best view, and test out different natural and artificial lights to make sure the lens doesn’t catch the light.
  • Where the ‘on’ light is exposed. It sounds like an obvious tip to remember to cover up the LED ‘on’ light if your camera has one, but so many people forget. All someone has to do is switch the lights off and look for this little light, and your carefully hidden camera will be discovered.

Now for the best…

Here is a best practice guide to the art of clever camera concealing – try these places:

  • In a ceiling fitting. Unless you dangle it from the ceiling without any disguise, it’s unlikely that anyone will spot a camera if you hide it in a light fitting or smoke detector on the ceiling. Few of us spend much time looking at the ceiling, and we certainly don’t look twice at things we expect to be there like lights and smoke alarm boxes
  • In an innocuous, everyday household item. Just like with items on the ceiling, most people aren’t suspicious of items they expect to see in a particular room. For example, radio alarm clocks in bedrooms, a coffee machine in the kitchen, a clock on the wall or a lamp in the living room. These are where you should hide your spy camera, or even better – buy a camera that has been actually designed to fit inside this kind of disguise. Just make sure you don’t choose something that is likely to be used when it doesn’t have full functionality, as this will definitely arouse suspicion.
  • In or behind something really boring. No one looks twice at plug adaptors or phone chargers, simply because they are so functional and remarkable, and we’re used to seeing them all the time.

Image credit: Wiki Commons