Imagine spending the money on a relaxing vacation only to discover you’ve been watched the entire time through a hidden camera. How would you feel? Angry? Violated? Scared? The following free hidden camera detector apps will help protect yourself using your smartphone.
Hidden cameras are a real danger that can invade your privacy and security. They can be disguised as ordinary objects, such as smoke detectors, clocks, USB hubs, and even wireless chargers. The footage can be used for nefarious purposes, such as spying on your personal life, stealing your identity, or blackmailing you.
How Do Camera Detector Apps Work?
Camera detector apps work by using the built-in features of your smartphone, like its camera, magnetometer, and other sensors, to find hidden cameras or spy devices. Similar to IRL camera detectors, there are 3 main ways these apps can detect bugs:
1. Magnetometer and Magnetic Field Detection
A lot of hidden cameras have electronic parts inside them that create magnetic fields. Camera detector apps use the magnetometer sensor in your smartphone to find these magnetic fields. The app scans the area around you by measuring the changes in the magnetic field. If there’s something weird going on with the magnetism, it could mean there’s a hidden camera or a spy device nearby.
2. Infrared Detection
Some hidden cameras use infrared (IR) technology, which is a type of light that you can’t see with your eyes but can be detected by special sensors. Camera detector apps that have IR detection can check the infrared light in the environment. If there’s an area that gives off infrared light that looks like it’s coming from a hidden camera, the app will let you know.
3. Visual Analysis
Similar to how some detectors find hidden camera lenses, some camera detector apps use your smartphone’s camera to look at the area around you visually. They look for anything strange, like reflections, shapes, or colors that could be signs of a hidden camera. This method might not be as accurate as the magnetometer or IR detection methods, but it adds another layer of checking.
Keep in mind that camera detector apps are not perfect and they can’t always be 100% accurate especially when we are only using their free version. Some hidden cameras are designed to be very discreet and might not emit strong magnetic fields or other detectable signals. Additionally, false positives are possible, where the app might detect normal electronic devices as suspicious.
Best Free Hidden Camera Detector Apps For iPhone
1. Hidden Camera Detector
This is one of the best and most popular free hidden camera detector apps available today. It has many useful features that make it stand out from other apps, and it can detect spy cameras in different ways.
The Hidden Camera Detector can scan the area around you for any hidden devices, or scan for bugs through WiFi, Bluetooth, or any wireless network you connect to. It can also alert you if there are any suspicious signals or activities in your surroundings.
Another thing I really like about this app is that it lets you access its spy camera library, where you can see examples of spy cameras in various shapes and sizes. This can help you speed up the scanning process by knowing what to look for, or prepare yourself for finding things that the app might miss.
2. Hidden Spy Camera Finder Pro
This is another powerful camera detector that can help you scan for hidden cameras in any hotel room and protect yourself from illegal surveillance.
Like the Hidden Camera Detector app, this app can also scan for hidden devices that are connected to the same WiFi, Bluetooth, or any other wireless network. You can also activate the lens finder using your phone’s camera with just one tap.
The most impressive feature of this app is that it allows you to view your scan history and record your findings as evidence for later use.
If you subscribe to the app, you will also get Pro Access, which gives you access to an exclusive guide and informative knowledge about how to prevent being spied on by these cameras and where they are most likely to be hidden.
3. Hidden Camera Finder
Don’t let spy cams ruin your privacy with Hidden Camera Finder. This app helps you locate every hidden camera in your hotel room or office with Augmented Reality (AR) technology that shows you the exact location of the camera on your screen.
Using this app is very simple. You just need to download the app for free from the App Store. Open the app and allow it to access your phone’s camera. Then you can use your phone as an IR detector to identify any unauthorized devices in your surroundings.
The app also has a flashlight feature that can help you scan for cameras even in the dark, but I don’t think this is very useful. Most hotels have lights anyway, and if you need to scan in complete darkness, most smartphones already have a built-in flashlight, so this feature is redundant.
Overall, I think this app is pretty good. Although it lacks some features like network scan, for a free app, it does its job well.
Best Free Hidden Camera Detector Apps for Android
1. Hidden Camera Detector
This is one of the best free hidden camera detector apps for Android phones and the first app in this list to have a Magnetometer feature.
You can scan for bugs around the room using infrared or magnetic field sensors. To use the infrared sensor, you just have to let the app access your camera and the infrared sensor will scan for infrared lights that are invisible to the naked eye. The abnormal lights will then appear on the screen as white dots. The app makes this feature easier to use with its luminescence effect.
This app can also analyze the magnetic activity around the device and if it detects a magnetic field similar to that of a camera, the app will sound an alarm. To use this feature, you have to keep your phone close to the suspected area.
If you find a place that raises your suspicion, you can also save it and share it with other app users to help them avoid it altogether.
2. Detectify
This is another free Android app that has the Magnetometer feature. Seems like Android hidden camera detector apps are just built different!
Like the Hidden Camera Detector, Detectify is also easy to use. When activated, this app will turn your phone into a magnetic field detector to spot any nearby electronic devices.
However, this app relies on the built-in magnetic sensor of your Android device, so if your device doesn’t have one, the app won’t work and you will have to choose another option like the infrared detector.
Also, the accuracy of these magnetic field detector apps may not be as good as real magnetic field detectors, so if the app doesn’t find anything, that doesn’t mean that your room is completely safe. It could be that the app is unable to detect the magnetic frequency of some cameras.
3. Hidden Camera Detector Pro
Don’t confuse this with the Pro version of the Hidden Camera Detector app that we mentioned earlier, because they are two different apps.
Hidden Camera Detector Pro sounds like an improved version of the Hidden Camera Detector, but it is actually not. It doesn’t have the Magnetometer feature, it can only use the phone’s lens to scan for cameras in the room.
And by now you should already know how it works. Just download the app, allow camera access, and start scanning your surroundings. As soon as something suspicious appears, the app will alert you.
Conclusion
No one likes to be recorded when they are doing anything, so spy bugs are the worst things to hide in someone’s room. It’s ridiculous that checking for hidden cameras has become one of the first things you need to do when you arrive at a new hotel or Air BnB. If you don’t have the expertise or money to invest in a proper camera finder, a free camera detector app might be a good first step.
Although these apps are not 100% accurate and can make a lot of mistakes, and they cannot replace real detectors, the convenience of turning your smartphone into a detector might outweigh most drawbacks.
