The Chinese manufacturer Oppo has announced the launch of an application compatible with its latest models, designed to detect the presence of any hidden surveillance cameras in an enclosed space. This could come in handy when renting a home or a vacation property, for example.
It's on the Weibo social network that Oppo announced the news: "New feature -- Hidden camera detection, you can detect hidden cameras with a simple operation with your mobile phone, and help you travel safely." The idea is to be able to detect the presence of spy cameras hidden in a hotel room, locker room, a bathroom or any other place supposed to be private.
According to the Android Authority website, the first compatible devices should be the Oppo Find X5 and Find X5 Pro, running Color OS 12.1. This new technology will be coming soon to the brand's other devices, although only in the Chinese market for now.
Users will have to download the app from the Oppo App Market. To make it work, you need to disable Wi-Fi and turn off all the lights. Only then will it be able to detect any mysterious devices connected to Wi-Fi, or the presence of an infrared light, as used by many night vision cameras. If the application detects a hidden camera, it will emit a signal that gets louder and louder as the smartphone approaches it. The user will then have to keep their eyes peeled to locate the camera and take the necessary steps to protect themselves from it. Although it's a bit of a cumbersome process, it's ultimately quite ingenious.
For the moment, this new application is reportedly only being deployed in China, which is, let's not forget, the world champion when it comes to public surveillance cameras. Users elsewhere will have to wait a little while longer to try it out. In the meantime, there are already several applications, available in the App Store and Google Play, that promise to detect hidden spy cameras, with varying degrees of success...
