I (21F) found a hidden camera in my house. I suspect my SIL (26F) put it there to watch me while I babysit my nephew (1M). What do I do?

A Reddit user discovered a hidden camera in their home and suspects their sister-in-law placed it there to monitor them while babysitting her nephew. Despite providing loving care for the child and their own infant daughter, the user is shocked and unsure how to proceed. Read the full story below to understand their dilemma and the potential breach of trust.

‘ I (21F) found a hidden camera in my house. I suspect my SIL (26F) put it there to watch me while I babysit my nephew (1M). What do I do?’

I babysit my 1 year old nephew from 7am-8pm Mon-Fri for free because a) I love my brother and nephew and b) I’m already a SAHM for my 5mo daughter and adding another kid isn’t a big deal for me, I have everything he needs already at home and I love kids.

The spare room in my apt has been transformed into a playroom with floor mats, exersaucers, toys, a nap cot, etc and that is where my daughter and nephew spend most of their time playing and napping. There is also a tv in there, and today semi hidden behind the tv I found a weird circular object with a lens in it.

After some googling I found that it was a small hidden wifi enabled camera that live streams to an app. I flipped my s**t, called my fiance and asked him if it was his. He vehemently denied it and suggested I called the police and explain to them that I need a bug check.

The only other person with regular access to my home and the playroom in particular would be my SIL; she drops nephew off in the morning and picks him up after work, and Bro and our parents only come on the weekends. I suspect the camera was placed recently which rules them out.

Another reason I suspect SIL is because I had put my nephew in a long sleeved foot pajama this morning because my apartment can get chilly, and 5 mins later she texted me “it’s going to warm up later so please don’t dress (nephew) too warmly, thanks!” It could be a coincidence, but now that I found the camera I’m not so sure.

If it’s her, she knows I know since I’m assuming she saw me find it. What do I do? Do I confront her and ask if its hers? I couldn’t even begin to imagine why she would think to put hidden cameras in my house; I have treated my nephew like my own from the start and love him wholeheartedly. I would never think to hurt him or n**lect him, my family actually compliment me quite often on what good care I take of my daughter and how happy she always is, and of course I treat my nephew the same.

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

dioidrac −  “Someone has secretly been recording my apartment. You should find someone else to watch your son, since I won’t feel safe with him here until the cops get to the bottom of this.”

[Reddit User] −  Oh yikes. Firstly, definitely call the police because you don’t know with 100% certainty that it was a family member. If they can do a sweep of the house to ease your mind, that would be amazing. Secondly, hold a family meeting and tell your family what’s happened, including already notifying the police. Do this not just to gauge their reactions but in the event this was planted by someone with malicious intent, they need to be aware.

maryjannie −  Don’t babysit for free. This is your home she had no rights to bug your home. I’d confront her and have her pick up her son ASAP. Childcare is her problem now.

foreverinfinate −  Remove the camera and call the police and file a report. Sounds harsh, but what she did I do believe is illegal. Overprotective mom or not, she has no right to keep watch in YOUR house.

Smoke_Water −  It’s your private residence, you have someone recording you with out your knowledge, thats breaking all kinds of laws. I would most deffinatly contact the police and file a report. then just unexpectedly, mention to her. “Oh, I found something creepy the other day. someone put a camera in my house.

I filed a report with the police and I’m going to press charges once they find out who it belongs to. They said they should be able to trace it by the IP it was going too.” IF she did it. she will likely start to freak out. Like you said, If it was her, she already knows you found the camera. Put the pressure on her.

sunflower1940 −  I babysit my 1 year old nephew from 7am-8pm Mon-Fri for free. You are being used, you know that right? A paid babysitter would make at the minimum $250 a week for those hours. Your brother should want you to be paid appropriately.

nickthedick42069 −  This is illegal. You should contact the a lawyer and/or the police.

maryjannie −  Please update

Calgarydude_2000 −  The camera has another concern as well. Those can be hacked if not secured properly. Meaning even if the sister in law did put it there it could be open for anyone to get into if she is not super tech skilled. You could have had besides her, strangers logging in to watch not just her kid but anything else. If I remember right there was a creepy Russian site with tons of unsecured web cam things 😱. Maybe it is shut down now but it was in the news a couple of years ago.

Conspiracynut625 −  Get a fake baby and walk away with him and come back in the camera view with the fake baby and start pummeling it and look into the camera with a straight face and then walk back out with your nephew. Too far? Maybe.

If you were in this situation, how would you approach the sister-in-law and address the issue of trust? Should the user involve authorities or try to resolve this within the family? Share your thoughts below!