Man searched adult site and found ‘spy cam’ video of him and his girlfriend

A man has told of his horror after finding footage of himself and his girlfriend having sex in a hotel room online.

Speaking out about his terrifying experience under the pseudonym Eric, he revealed how an hour-long clip of their intimate encounter was recorded on a 'spy cam' and published on a social media channel.

It reportedly showed how the couple entered their hotel room, unpacked their bags and later had sex - and thousands of people were able to view it on a website dedicated to voyeurism.

Eric, from Hong Kong, explained that he had been browsing a 'spy cam' porn site that he had been visiting since he was a teenager when he realised he featured in one of the videos.

He said he began watching this content because he was enticed by how 'raw' it was, telling the BBC World Service: "What drew me in is the fact that the people don't know they're being filmed. I think traditional porn feels very staged, very fake."

Hidden cameras are set up in hotel rooms to livestream the activities of guests (BBC)

Producing and distributing porn is illegal in China, which has prompted people in the country to turn to the likes of Telegram to find out where they can access websites and apps with explicit material.

Adult content, including so-called 'spy cam porn', is often advertised on the social media and instant messaging service.

According to Eric, who is now in his 30s, he and his partner - referred to as 'Emily' - were recorded without their consent during a hotel stay in Shenzhen, southern China, in 2023.

The government introduced new measures to try and crackdown on the hidden camera epidemic in April last year, ordering hotel owners to regularly check their premises for recording devices - but it seems the spy cams scandal is far from over.

Eric was left horrified after finding footage of himself and his partner having sex on an adult site (Getty Stock Image)

Eric explained he found the footage - which had been edited into an hour-long video - featuring himself and Emily three weeks after their hotel stay, before he then broke the news to his partner.

She initially thought he was joking until she saw it for herself, leaving her terrified that her friends, family or colleagues might have watched it too.

The couple 'didn't talk to each other for weeks' after Eric made the discovery and say they now don hats in public in a bid to avoid being recognised, while steering as clear as they can of hotels.

Eric himself said he has now stopped finding pleasure in watching spy cam porn and claims he no longer visits these sites - except for occasionally checking them to see if the footage of him has reared its head again.

This black market industry has become quite a problem in China and has reportedly prompted some people to pitch tents inside rented rooms out of fear that they are being secretly filmed.

The BBC located a hidden camera during the investigation (BBC)

According to the BBC, there are 'thousands' of spy cam videos available to watch online. The broadcaster's investigation found that across six websites, there were more than 180 active cameras both recording and livestreaming from hotel rooms across the country.

Those behind these sick schemes reportedly recruit their customer base from social media sites such as Telegram before charging monthly fees of around 450 Yuan (£47) for access to spy cam websites.

The BBC claims that the clandestine cameras - which can be as tiny as a pencil eraser - typically go live as soon as guests insert their key cards.

When one of the recordings of a popular hotel room was disabled, viewers took to a Telegram channel to share complaints, while the agent behind it reportedly responded saying: "It's such a shame; that room has the best sound quality!"

People find these voyeurism sites via apps such as Telegram (Carl Court/Getty Images)

He also boasted about the 'speed' of the livestreaming platform, describing it as 'impressive'. These agents are said to work for 'camera owners', who presumably are the ones who dot the hidden cameras around hotel rooms.

In response to the allegations, Telegram told the BBC: "Sharing non-consensual pornography is explicitly forbidden by Telegram's terms of service," while adding that 'it proactively moderates and accepts reports [of inappropriate content] in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day'.

Blue Li, who works for a Hong Kong-based NGO called RainLily, which helps victims of sexual cyber-crimes scrub secretly recorded footage from the internet, said tech firms need to shoulder some responsibility for this issue.

"We believe tech companies share the huge responsibility in addressing these problems," she said. "Because these companies are not neutral platforms; their policies shape how the content would be spread."

Exposed: China’s Spycam Porn is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.