Hidden camera

A hidden camera can be wired or wireless. Hidden cameras 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 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 sets, smoke detectors, clocks, motion detectors, mobile phones, personal computers) to everyday objects where electronics are not expected to be found (stationery, plants, glasses, clothing, street lights[1]).

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, corporations, 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 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.[2] 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.

Hidden cameras are sometimes used in 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 Microphone theatrical short films. In 1996 the genre was given an overhaul by Travis Draft who introduced the glasses cam with his show Buzzkill. The show took a hidden camera to a whole new level where the performer was the focal point.

• Secret photography
• Closed-circuit television
• Dashcam
• Video door-phone

• Media related to Spy cameras at Wikimedia Commons