ABSTRACT

This chapter concerns the use and abuse of spycams, nowadays easily available on the main e-commerce platforms, within the domestic environment. Such devices feature minuscule lenses, motion sensors and night-view capabilities – particularly efficient in remotely ‘watching over’ and ‘checking on’ nannies and dog sitters. However, their use has implications for the incidental monitoring of unaware guests/intruders, in extreme cases permitting tolerated instances of domestic abuse. Through an onlife ethnography of reviews and forums, the chapter suggests their use has become a normative and well-integrated characteristic of everyday domestic life.