Security cameras in the clients home--would you be comfortable?

In this day and age I just assume every client has a nanny cam whether they do or not. I have no issue with this since my actions are the same regardless. As a potential client, I'd be concerned about any service provider who appears defensive or goes overboard asking about cameras. There are so many service people who have access to people's homes. I think it's a safe practice.

Every one has a different opinion on this subject. I personally don't like the idea of camera's watching me everywhere. Not because I'm worried about my behavior, but because when I'm doing an overnight in someone's home I will obviously be in my pajama's and sometimes playing in those pj's with the dogs and would be very embarrassed if anything slipped out as I am a very voluptuous woman. lol Personally, I would prefer NOT to know if they have camera's. That way I don't have any anxiety than I already do have sleeping in a strange place. I usually don't ask and I've had a pet sit job before where the client told me about their camera that was located just outside the front door due to packages being stolen in the neighborhood which I completely understood as that issue was happening with us too where we lived.

As far as whether to accept the job or not after knowing all of this, it would be on a case by case basis. Sometimes it isn't a big deal, but other times I've heard sitter's having client's with camera's using them to micromanage them and calling them constantly about every little minute thing and this was from a professional sitter NOT on Rover. So, go with your instinct when you interview those people. If anything is "off" about them then I would just say I don't think this is the right fit, but if you have a good feeling about the owners and they seem pretty normal then I would try perhaps a trial pet sit to ease any concerns.

Yes, I have at last a couple clients that have cameras in their home. It was never an issue for me. In both cases, they got them so they could see their dog in real time while they were away. It's worth mentioning these cameras are visibly mounted to film only the kitchen/living room areas, where the dogs spend most of their awake time. One client rarely watches it and I generally only walk that dog, so I'm not spending much time there anyway.

The other client travels a lot and it gives her peace of mind to see her dogs doing well whenever she can, which is great, because she misses her dogs way more than any pet parent I've ever met. It also allows her to monitor the comings/goings in the home with extended family members (especially if unannounced visits), their friends, and other service providers. The placement of cameras actually eliminated a lot of questions previously asked. Since I provide multiple walks/day, she encourages me to spend as much time as I want in between walks in her home when my availability allows. During some of the times I've been there, she's messaged me to make myself more comfortable or some nice comment about the interaction with the dogs and I. It's actually been a positive enhancement tool in our communications.

I always figure I could be seen by someone at any time, so I behave professionally and dress conservatively (including nightwear that I wouldn't be embarrassed seen wearing on camera or even on the street if there was an emergency).

In the case of having a client who has cameras in their home I would be a good idea to discuss your process to assure them and ensure when/if they are viewing the tapes. Make sure to know there is the dog food, how to fill water bowls if you are allowed to use the restroom or TV and any other thing you might need to know to avoid doing something they might not like. Its also good to avoid looking through cabinets. Also, unless discussed or offered my customer it is safe to assume that your visit should me limited to letting the dog out/walking the pet and feeding them.

My first client simply told me that he 'had cameras', without specifying where. So at the end of the Meet & Greet, I asked him. I didn't want to make him suspicious or something, so I just told him that I've never stayed in a person's house before that had cameras in it (which is true) and that knowing where they are would just help to ease my nerves a bit. I don't have a problem with there being in-house cameras, but it is useful information to know, as others said, such as with pajamas and whatnot. Don't want anyone to see parts of me that I don't want them to see, ha! He specified where the cameras were and that was that. Booked and completed the stay, everything went swimmingly. I didn't have any bad gut feelings and he wasn't off-putting in the least.

I always ask if my clients have cameras in their home and where they are. As you said I would never disrespect their property, but I feel much more comfortable knowing. You can even see it as a good thing, because they will see what a great job you are doing taking care of their home and pets!

I haven't had this situation yet, but I can certainly understand your hesitance to accept the stay. I see that you've already accepted it, though, so I wish you luck and peace. :-)

That being said, in the future if that situation came up at the M&G, I would ask the client how often they access the camera feed info and what exactly they are using them for. If they use it to check up on me frequently during the day/night, then I would be hesitant to accept. If it's just used as backup in case of a burglary or other incident, and they don't look at the footage that often, then I would go with my instincts as if they weren't there.

I’m very late to this thread, but I wanted to chime in from the client POV. The first Rover sitter we used was great, but unfortunately she has moved. The 2nd sitter was not so great. She was being paid to house sit and stay overnight with our elderly dog who has health problems, but she’d leave at night and not return until the morning. She’d also stop in for about 15 mins (presumably to let our girl out and feed her, and to take photos), then leave for hours but send us photos through the day or evening with comments making it sound like she was here the entire time. Then she had a friend over (without our permission) while she was here midway in the booking, and the friend pointed out our Ring doorbell, which we had forgotten to mention to her. She then stopped coming in our front door and started going around our house to come in the back (no sidewalk and she had to walk through our wet lawn). We hadn’t been purposely watching her comings and goings until we began to realize she wasn’t staying the night and wasn’t there when she tried to make us believe she was. We didn’t say anything until we were back home and our key had been returned, but when I called her on it she was unapologetic and said we had “miscommunicated.” No, I had been clear about what we needed and our expectations. So we’re now going to put in a nanny cam in our main living area and will be sure to let the next sitter know it’s there and that we have a Ring doorbell.

Good Question! Previously, my clients did not have cameras that I knew of, but being in someone else's home, I acted as if they had a "Nanny Cam". I would never do anything to damage their property, steal or do anything bad to their pet, but they don't know that.

Most traffic lights have cameras. All Interstates have cameras. All stores & restaurants have cameras, inside and outside. My last Corporate job had cameras on all doorways, hallways and parking lots. If you look at YouTube, you know every smartphone can record in a second wherever people are!

The only place I know I am not being filmed is inside my own home. (My home computer screen purposely does NOT have a built in camera, because they can be hacked & other people can view you) When you are not using your computer cam, I highly advise covering it up! I don't want others seeing me changing clothes.