Two people can ask for “a hidden camera” or “a bug detector” and need completely different tools. Room size, walls, Wi-Fi, whether audio is lawful, whether the space is one you control, and how long the unit must sit – those details change the answer. That comparison is the consult.

A consultation starts when we diagnose your situation, compare options, and recommend what will actually meet the objective. That is billed. Payment is required up front. The fee is credited if you buy the recommended equipment from us the same day.

Read the long answer: What counts as a consultation?

You are not comparing the same thing. An online listing is a box and a PDF. A purchase here includes expert consultation, basic hands-on training, and client status with our shop.

Read the long answer: Why not buy the same thing cheaper online?

Those listings sell a gadget. They do not sell a working plan. We hear the same stories from people who later became clients.

You become a client. Clients get the equipment, the consult credit, basic training on what they bought, and access to the professional resources we keep for clients. That network is not a free public service.

Call (415) 775-4779 or come to 555 Beach Street and book a paid consultation. Appointments are the cleanest way to protect your time and ours.

We will not email a model number so you can order it elsewhere. We will not spec a kit by email, chat, or a floor conversation with no ticket.

Read the long answer: Will you email a model number?

Owning one is legal in the United States. Using one is legal only for a lawful purpose and only where people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Bathrooms, bedrooms used for changing, locker rooms, and similar private spaces are prohibited under California Penal Code 647(j) and comparable laws elsewhere. Not legal advice.

Usually not in secret. Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2512) restricts devices sold primarily for covert audio interception. California is an all-party consent state (Penal Code 632). Most cameras record sound by default. Disable the microphone unless every party consents or valid notice is posted. We do not sell or support equipment for illegal eavesdropping. Not legal advice.

Video-only cameras in common areas of a home you occupy are often allowed. Bathrooms and bedrooms used as changing areas are not. If the camera has a microphone, California’s all-party consent rule still applies. Not legal advice.

No. A landlord may not place a hidden camera inside a tenant’s unit. That can be a crime under California Penal Code 647(j) and can support a civil privacy claim. Not legal advice.

Airbnb has banned indoor cameras since April 30, 2024, disclosed or not. Outdoor cameras are allowed only if they do not cover private outdoor spaces and the host lists them before booking. An indoor camera is a platform violation and may also be illegal. Not legal advice.

You may track property you own. California Penal Code 637.7 makes it a crime to use an electronic tracking device to follow a person without required consent. That includes magnetic GPS units and Bluetooth tags used to follow someone. Typical lawful uses: your own vehicle, or a minor child you have legal custody of. Employer tracking of a company vehicle generally needs written notice. Not legal advice.

Read the long answer: Can I put a GPS tracker on a car or a person?

Adults purchasing for lawful home, business, parental, or professional use. Law enforcement and licensed investigators have additional authorized uses. We sell tools. Completing a purchase means you agree to use the product only as permitted by law. Sale is not permission to use a device in any particular way. Not legal advice.

California’s Invasion of Privacy Act is Penal Code §§ 630-638.

• PC 630 – Legislative finding that eavesdropping devices threaten privacy.
• PC 631 – Wiretapping a phone or communication line without all-party consent.
• PC 632 – Recording or eavesdropping on a confidential communication without every party’s consent. This is why California is an all-party consent state.
• PC 632.5 / 632.6 / 632.7 – Cell and cordless calls. 632.7 requires all-party consent even when the call would not count as “confidential” under 632.
• PC 633 – Listed law-enforcement exception.
• PC 633.5 – Narrow exception: a party may record to gather evidence of listed serious crimes.
• PC 634 – Trespass onto property to commit unlawful eavesdropping.
• PC 635 – Making, selling, or furnishing a device primarily designed for eavesdropping. Law-enforcement sales excepted. A security camera sold for lawful video monitoring is not an “eavesdropping device” under this section.
• PC 636 – Recording a confidential talk between a person in custody and that person’s lawyer, doctor, or clergy. Felony.
• PC 637 – Disclosing a telegraph or telephone message you were not a party to.
• PC 637.2 – Civil lawsuit for a chapter violation. Greater of $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages.
• PC 637.7 – Using an electronic tracker to follow a person. Does not bar tracking property you own.
• PC 647(j) – Separate hidden-camera / voyeurism statute. Bathrooms, bedrooms used for changing, locker rooms.

Silent video in a non-private area of property you control is generally outside PC 632. Audio of a confidential conversation is inside it.

Official text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/

Plain-language summary, not the statute, not legal advice. You are solely responsible for lawful use.

PC 637.2 is the civil lawsuit that attaches to the eavesdropping chapter. It does not require a criminal case. An injured person may recover the greater of $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages. The plaintiff does not have to prove a dollar loss. The same suit may seek an injunction. Courts treat each unlawfully recorded confidential conversation or call as its own violation.

Shop rule: do not sell or use a product as a secret listening device. Lawful video monitoring is the lane. Audio is a consult question.

Official text: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=637.2

General information, not legal advice. Damages and timing depend on facts and forum.

A small digital camera sits in an everyday object or as a board camera. Video stores on a card, goes to a phone app, or both. Analog wireless-to-VCR systems are obsolete. For legal, authorized use only.

There is no universal answer. Local-only avoids the cloud. Wi-Fi adds live view and adds a network to secure. Wired or PoE is the most reliable fixed install. The consult picks the lane.

Enough to identify what you lawfully need to see. More resolution is not always better. It eats storage and bandwidth. “4K” on a listing is often an upscaled sensor.

Yes, if they have a card, recorder, or cloud. Battery-only hidden cameras do not last all day in continuous mode. Power, heat, and how the unit is placed change run time. That is why a two-minute aisle conversation is not a plan.

Transmitters sold in the U.S. must meet FCC rules. We sell FCC-compliant equipment. That certification covers radio emissions only. It is not a license to record, track, or intercept communications.

A consumer RF detector finds some live radio transmissions. It misses a camera that is off, a tracker in deep sleep, and a wired camera with no transmitter.

Each tool sees one layer. Radio. Optics. Metal. Network. Powered-off electronics. A $30 pen cannot do all of that.

Sometimes. Phones already warn about unknown AirTags traveling with you. A detector is not a substitute for knowing where you are authorized to look.

You can do a basic visual check of a room you have rented. If you find a device in a private space, photograph it, report it to the platform, and contact police if it is in a bedroom or bathroom. Do not pocket evidence.

Read the long answer: Can I sweep a hotel or Airbnb myself?

Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures: a trained sweep for hidden cameras, microphones, and trackers. Consumer gadgets are a first pass. TSCM is what is used before sensitive meetings or after a suspected breach.

CMOS – image sensor in current cameras.

CCD – older sensor. Rare in new compact cameras.

1080p / 4K – resolution. 1080p is enough for a typical room.

H.265 – video compression. Smaller files than H.264.

NVR – network video recorder.

PoE – power and video on one Ethernet cable.

IR 850 nm / 940 nm – night-vision LEDs. 850 glows faint red. 940 does not.

RF detector – finds some live radio. Misses off cameras and sleeping trackers.

NLJD – professional tool that can find electronics that are powered off.

TSCM – Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures. A trained sweep.

All-party consent – in California, every person in a private conversation must agree before you record audio.

Hardwired vehicle GPS, magnetic GPS for assets you own, Bluetooth item finders, and phone location tools. Sleeping units often do not transmit. An RF detector alone will miss them.

If you did not install a device and you believe one is on a vehicle you own, photograph what you find in place and contact police if it is not yours. Do not destroy possible evidence.

Property you own. A minor child you have legal custody of. An adult who knows about the locator, or when a lawful caregiver or power of attorney authorizes it. Agency-owned and company-owned fleets with required notice. Not for tracking an adult in secret. Not legal advice.

Yes. International Spy Shop, 555 Beach Street, San Francisco, CA 94133, Fisherman’s Wharf.

Consultation and basic hands-on training are part of a purchase from us. Training explains operation of the unit you bought. It is not a license or legal opinion.

Then you can buy it here and still get training and client status. If you want us to confirm the choice, that confirmation is a consultation.

We will not review a competitor’s listing and tell you it is the same unit. We will not email a model number so it can be ordered elsewhere. We do not test, repair, or train on units bought somewhere else.

Call (415) 775-4779. Tell us you need a consultation. We will set a time, collect the consult fee, and credit it if you buy the recommended equipment from us that day.

• Equipment is sold for legal, authorized use only.
• This page is general information, not legal advice, not a warranty, and not a consultation.
• We support equipment sold by this shop.
• Consultation is billed up front and credited if you buy the recommended equipment from us.
• We will not email a model number so it can be ordered somewhere else.
• Buyer is solely responsible for complying with federal law, California Penal Code §§ 630-638 and 647(j), and the law of any place the product is used.