Is this a coincidence or should i be worried?

[mumspiration1997]

We had a visitor over the weekend. It is a family member who in the past has been known for this "type" of thing should i say. Not exactly this but things of this nature, such as (sending screenshots, bullying tactial behaviour)

Things have been frosty as late and has not came to my house for maybe 4 or 5 months. Visited late one evening at weekend as it was DH birthday, with a gift.

However i was in and out and putting washing away etc but when i came back in she was showing us a video of a child and i seen a timer in green on the left side of the screen at top she quickly slid it away. (Iphone) on my phone a green timer is an ongoing call but i have now asked google who tells me it is a voice recorder on certain iphones.

The time on the timer aligned with the time she arrived (confirmed this with my ring doorbell) 😐

It was one minute more. Surely this is not a coincidence and surely against social norms if not illegal to record a conversation in which children were also speaking. I didnt say anything at the time as this person would have victim mentality and i was worried she would turn it on me somehow.

DH said he did notice it but thought it was an alarm.

I do not know what to do about this.

Stop letting her in your house.

She sounds unwell (or a shit stirrer).

The issue depends on why you think she’d be recording you all.

You say it’s frosty - so was she protecting herself.

Or is she a shit stirrer and trying to get you to slag off other family members.

I would be surprised if she was voice recording and showing you videos on her phone - I would have thought she’d have stayed off her phone completely.

But you will never know if she was recording you unless it comes out and so there’s no point worrying about it too much.

Oh really? And which criminal offence is being committed here?

In the UK, laws about recording conversations pertain to organisations, not individuals. It’s not illegal to record a conversation for your own personal use, regardless of where the recording is taken, and you don’t need the consent of anyone in the recording. There’s no context or nuance, it’s simply not illegal. What happens to the recording afterwards is where context is applied: if it’s made with the intention to blackmail or impersonate, it’s illegal. Sharing it with people who weren’t involved in the conversation or publishing it is illegal (though the extent to which the law is interested depends on the situation.) A judge’s permission may be required for it to be admissible as evidence in court.

OP, your relative is somebody best ignored and kept out of your house if they have a history of nasty behaviour towards you.

There's been a couple of threads recently where people have been found recording conversations on iphones - honestly, I'd never be able to relax in that person's company again.
It's a wonder we're not all paranoid gibbering wrecks in this age of constant recording/videos!

If you didn't say anything bad, which I guess you wouldn't if you don't trust her, then she has nothing. But I would be wary of her visiting again. Do you actually know she was recording you? You don't sound as though you know what the timer was for, perhaps it was just the video timer?

So assuming she was recording your conversation, do you have any idea why? Was she steering the conversation in a certain direction? What were you talking about?

Evidence of being turned away when you let her in? None of this is making any sense. Evidence for who?

Surely this is not a coincidence and surely against social norms if not illegal to record a conversation in which children were also speaking.

How could anyone here possibly know whether it was a coincidence?

It’s not illegal, all you can do is either not let her in to your house; confiscate her mobile or speak in code with your family when she’s around.