Housemate set camera up in house without our knowledge

[Raindrops2019]

Housemate set raspberry pi up in kitchen that recorded us without our knowledge. Pi has a camera on it. I am furious, rest of house indifferent. AIBU or are they?

@Cherrysoup It is a rolling 6 month contract. She said that I could leave before the contract finishes and I wouldn't be penalised.

@ThatCurlyGirl thank you, that is really kind. I have so much going on that I don't want to go into but I am not sure this is a situation you stand your ground on and I am reassured that so many have said leave.

As I said, my friend was horrified and has offered a spare room. I will take her up on it, I think and go from there.

How awful for you. Your home should be a safe space. His behaviour has made that impossible. I’d report to the university union & his department.

@GotToGoMyOwnWay I think it would be wise to do that once I have left.

ironically, I am reluctant to do that as he gets a scholarship from his country and it might be bad for him.

Yeah, this is not right. Creepy/sneaky. PhD Supervisor, Ethics Committee are words I'd be bandying around and would follow through on. I'd be moving too.

Wow, Raindrops, what a fucking stoopid loon he is. Really creepy and weird. .

I don't know what the "legal" position is, but I'd move out as soon as possible .

I don't know what you can "do" about it, apart from that. I have no advice or views there, as tbh I find it hard to get my head round. He sounds like a nasty little nut job tbh.

So your other housemates aren't bothered...is that because they don't think there is a camera in their rooms etc? Personally I'd be bloody furious. And don't be too considerate about him and his scholarshop/oseas student status, he's creepy and inconsiderate and no-one has the right to make you feel the way you do, especially in your home!

Yes. I am actually furious but have lots of other stuff to deal with that I don't want to go into online so am trying to focus on practical things. There is a way to deal with this that would mean I don't have to leave, I am sure of it (there must be?) but the quickest and prob best thing is to leave. Landlady will figure out that she is stuck with him.

I absolutely hate all of the normalising, too. Just because it happens in public doesn't mean we have to start accepting it in private.

I absolutely hate all of the normalising, too. Just because it happens in public doesn't mean we have to start accepting it in private
It's being successfully legally challenged in public places.
Without permission it's illegal in private.
Landlady may be putting herself in difficult position if she doesn't act on it.

hope it sorts out.

men.

@woman19 I meant with the other hsemates , but yes I think she is storing problems for the future.

Thank you, all. For your time and your thoughts.

Complain to the university.

Just because he gets a scholarship from his country doesn't mean he can be a creepy wanker in the host country!

I'd either sabotage his pervy camera and/or complain to the uni.

@Ellie56, yes! I am annoyed with myself for even thinking about how it affects him

Sabotage it at every opportunity. I don't mean do physical damage to it, just stick a tea towel over the camera lens and when he moves it, do it again, every single time. Also, do report it to his department. He needs the ethics of what he's doing explaining in no uncertain terms.

Your university will have a service called Housing Services. Honestly, I'd go to speak to them and get their advice. It isn't on. I personally feel he should be made to move out - recording housemates without their consent. The university may be able to insist or pressure the landlady to take action on this, it depends (for example, if the house share has been advertised through their service).

On the other hand, I wouldn't want this creep knowing where I lived and I also would feel dismayed at the other housemates so moving out and cutting all contacts with the place might be for the best.

This is serious - you specifically said you didn't want to be recorded and then he went ahead and did it anyway. It's vile, especially as he had hidden it.

I wouldn't want to stay there even if he goes - he has had access to the keys and I doubt the landlady would be bothered to change them, he could leave behind monitoring devices/cameras very easily and stream them for example.

Also, fuck it being 'bad for him'. He shouldn't have done it.

I had this once. Hidden camera. I'd walk around in the middle of the night getting up to go to the loo or whatever. I wore just a t-shirt, sometimes knickers on underneath, sometimes nothing. Videos uploaded. But my face was blurred out, so it was 'okay'. The fact that whoever blurred my face out saw my nether regions didn't matter

Next time you see the Pi, stick it in the microwave. 30 seconds on high power will do the trick.

Everyone likes warm Pi!

Do report to the Uni, they will take it seriously even if your rubbish landlady is too lazy to take the responsibility her charging you rent means that she's liable for.

We had a similarly useless letting agent in charge of a nearby student house, who were causing us problems. They did nothing about outer complaints. Uni on the other hand were fantastic & threatened to kick them off their courses if they didn't toe the line

I think you're overreacting about the cameras. The first was sitting on the kitchen windowsill so not hidden. The second was filming outside of the house. The third device is his plant watering thingy so not sure why you're even mentioning that? It would have been sensible for him to mention the first camera but I honestly wouldn't be that fussed.

The not contributing to the tv licence (assuming he watches TV) and not cleaning would piss me off but if the other housemates are not prepared to call him out on that you have limited choices: leave, suck it up and ignore or continue to complain about it (and risk everyone getting fed up with you).

@NannoCov. I was dreading a poster like you. I haven’t ‘continued’ with anything. I posted here to double check because my hsemates, who I think are bothered, but don’t want to confront him, are not going to say anything. That’s all.

That you would trivialise this says far more about you, than it does about me. It is wrong and he has broken the ethical guidelines for research.

@Susie1996 you really have my sympathies. That’s a horrible thing to have happen when you are half asleep, in your own home.

@Penners99 Ha!

You are not overeacting Raindrops2019. I'd be appalled at the invasion of my privacy. See if you can find out the email address of the university's ethics committee. I'm sure they'd want to know about this breach, putting aside the illegalities.