Airbnb

Is Airbnb safe to use?

Yes, with one firm rule: keep everything inside the app. Airbnb has no record of a large account breach, it banned indoor cameras worldwide in 2024, and its privacy label is shorter on tracking than Uber's or Amazon's. The real risks are scams that pull you off the platform, listings that are not what they seem, and, rarely, a host who breaks the rules. We score it 60/100.

Hidden cameras: what the rules are

This is the fear many guests search for first. Until 2024 Airbnb let hosts use indoor cameras in common areas such as hallways and living rooms, if they were disclosed and visible. On 11 March 2024 it announced a global ban on indoor security cameras. The current rule covers any device that records or sends video, images or audio, including baby monitors and doorbell cameras pointed inside, even when they are switched off. It also applies to shared spaces in private-room listings.

Exterior cameras are still allowed if the listing says where they are, but not in places where guests expect privacy, such as an enclosed outdoor shower or a sauna. Noise decibel monitors are allowed and must be disclosed. Where a local law requires a camera at the interior entryway, it must be disclosed and must not record audio.

A ban is not a guarantee. When you arrive, look at smoke detectors, clocks, chargers and anything with a small lens facing a bed or shower. If you find a device indoors, photograph it, leave if you feel unsafe and report it to Airbnb.

Scams to watch for

Most Airbnb fraud happens when a guest is persuaded to leave the platform. Airbnb's help centre says that if you pay outside Airbnb you lose its protections, and that hosts may not ask you to move to WhatsApp, Facebook, text or another service before booking. Typical patterns are a host offering a discount for a bank transfer, a "booking link" to a page that looks like Airbnb but is not, and a listing copied from a real home at a suspiciously low price.

Inside the app, the more common problem is a place that does not match its photos. Airbnb's AirCover for guests promises help to rebook, or a full or partial refund, for serious problems the host cannot fix, such as a cancellation before check-in. Report problems in the app as soon as you find them.

Data and privacy

Airbnb's Apple privacy label has no "Data Used to Track You" section. It does link a lot to your identity: contact details, messages, photos, search and browsing history, payment and credit info, and precise location, partly for Airbnb's own marketing.

Identity checks are the sensitive part. Ireland's Data Protection Commission found in September 2023 that Airbnb breached data minimisation when it required one guest to upload an unredacted photo ID, reprimanded it and ordered changes. In September 2020 a bug let some hosts see other users' inboxes; Airbnb reported it to the same regulator.

Fines and orders

The record is mostly about listings and prices, not data. In December 2023 Australia's Federal Court ordered Airbnb Ireland to pay A$15 million because many Australians thought they were paying in Australian dollars when they were charged in US dollars, and to offer up to about A$15 million in compensation. In December 2025 Spain's consumer ministry fined Airbnb €64 million over listings without a tourist licence and unclear information about hosts, after it had already made Airbnb remove 65,000 listings in July 2025. Airbnb is appealing the Spanish fine.

Physical safety incidents are less visible. Bloomberg Businessweek reported in 2021 that a dedicated Airbnb safety team handles the worst cases, often with confidential settlements, so public data on assaults or injuries at listings is thin.

How to book more safely

1. Never pay or chat outside the app before booking, whatever discount is offered.
2. Prefer listings with many recent reviews; read the low ones.
3. Check the licence number shown in cities that require one, such as Barcelona or Paris.
4. Share your booking with someone, and check exits and smoke alarms on arrival.
5. Report any indoor camera or other problem in the app as soon as you find it.

How we scored it

Security (70) is Airbnb's strongest factor, with no large breach. Privacy (55) and scams and harmful content (55) reflect heavy data linking and off-platform fraud. Regulatory record (50) carries the Spanish and Australian penalties, which concern listings and pricing rather than personal data. Compare Uber, the other big app that puts you in a stranger's car or home, which scores 46.