The Dark Side of Hotel Privacy: A Hidden Camera Nightmare in China

Fri Feb 06 2026 10:31:11 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The Dark Side of Hotel Privacy: A Hidden Camera Nightmare in China

A shocking revelation of hidden cameras capturing intimate moments in hotel rooms has surfaced, highlighting the pervasive issue of spy-cam porn in China. This story follows the harrowing experience of a couple who unknowingly became victims of this invasion of privacy, exposing a thriving underground network.

In an alarming incident in Shenzhen, a couple discovered that their intimate moments had been streamed live to an audience without their consent, due to a hidden camera in their hotel room. This event sheds light on China's troubling spy-cam porn industry, revealing how prevalent such violations of privacy have become, despite legal prohibitions. The couple's emotional trauma and the broader implications of this issue are examined, alongside the challenges faced in curbing this illegal activity.

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

He realised 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.

Warning: This story contains some offensive language

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.

In the last 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. However, the threat of being secretly filmed in the privacy of a hotel room has not gone away. The BBC World Service 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 capturing, and even livestreaming, hotel guests' activities.

During our 18-month investigation into this issue, we identified dozens of agents involved in the distribution of these videos, often exploiting unsuspecting couples in private moments. The accounts managed by these agents collectively amassed significant incomes from subscriptions and live feeds of unsuspecting guests.

Eric and Emily are now haunted by their experience, opting to wear hats to avoid being recognized in public, and they try to refrain from staying in hotels altogether. Eric has stopped viewing the illicit content he was once drawn to, but the fear that their footage could resurface lingers.

This disturbing prevalence of non-consensual filming in China raises important questions about privacy, technology, and the ongoing efforts to combat such violations in a digital age.