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What is a Spy Microphone?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

A spy microphone typically refers to one of two kinds of microphone: ones that can be concealed to record sound without those being recorded knowing about it, and microphones that can record sound from long distances. Hidden microphones can be found in a number of different forms and are common in various pieces of spy equipment. Long range microphones, however, are typically a somewhat more specialized device and can consist of different forms and use different types of technology to pick up a signal. A spy microphone can be used by law enforcement, private investigators, and individual citizens.

The purpose of this type of microphone will typically vary depending on the needs of a user, and the purpose will often affect what type of microphone is used. One of the most common types of spy microphone is one that records sound in a fairly small area, but can be easily concealed on a person or other object. These microphones can be built into other devices, such as specially designed glasses or jewelry with a microphone built into them. They can also be hidden in other ways, such as a microphone that is hidden among the leaves of a plant or concealed in a person’s clothes.

Private investigators may use spy microphones to capture conservations.
Private investigators may use spy microphones to capture conservations.

A spy microphone can also be a larger device intended less for recording secretly inside of a small area, and more for listening to an area from a long distance. These types of microphones can pick up sound at long distances and may be connected to a device that records the sound that is received, as well as headphones for an operator to listen to audio as it is captured. This type of microphone is often a larger device, usually a hand-held directional microphone, and not easily concealed, though the range provided by such a device can make it easy to use without detection.

Spy microphones may be concealed within jewelry and other ordinary items.
Spy microphones may be concealed within jewelry and other ordinary items.

Law enforcement agents and officers will typically use a spy microphone to listen in on the conversations of suspected criminals. These types of microphones can also be used to record a conversation in secret; such microphones are often called a “wire” and are worn to record spoken evidence in an investigation. Private detectives and investigators will often use this sort of microphone as well, usually to provide evidence and document their work. Use of a spy microphone by private individuals, as well as law enforcement agents without permission to use one, can result in legal consequences due to privacy laws.

Discussion Comments

anon316260

I think my mom is cheating on my dad. If I put the pen or a different recording tool in her purse to record conversations, do you think it will be able to pick up the sound?

OeKc05

I had to take part in a police investigation involving my employer. They suspected that he was smuggling various items through a dealer, and since I was his secretary, they knew that I had to sit in on meetings. My boss and his supposed dealer never said anything too revealing, or so I thought, but they had a code, and the investigators could decipher it better than I could.

They set me up with a tiny spy microphone inside of a locket. I wore this locket when I went in to take notes. Though I didn’t understand any of their lingo, the microphone picked up enough evidence for an arrest to be made.

Luckily, my boss never suspected that I had anything to do with his arrest. The spy gear was so well-concealed that he never could have detected it.

wavy58

@shell4life - I had a bad babysitter, too, but I wanted to be sure before I fired her. Babysitters in my small town are hard to find.

I set up a spy camera with a built-in microphone in my son’s teddy bear and placed it on the mantle. I did this because I had smelled strong cologne that did not belong to my husband on our couch after the babysitter left one Friday night. I suspected the babysitter was having male company over while she should have been watching Steven.

The camera caught a guy on the couch with the babysitter making out. It also caught Steven coming in and tapping her on the shoulder to ask for a glass of water. She told him to get it himself because she was busy.

I was able to confront her without revealing that I had spied on her, because my son had seen them together. I fired her and found a new sitter through a babysitter directory.

lighth0se33

I had been dating a man who worked for the government. He could never tell me exactly what he did, but I knew it was covert.

We dated for about three months, but his jealousy became too much for me to handle. He questioned me extensively when I went out with my friends, and if he didn't hear from me for a couple of hours, he would call and ask what was going on.

I broke up with him, and he was convinced that I was cheating on him. I discovered that after we broke up, he started using a spy device to listen to my conversations with friends from my house. I found this out when he called me and mentioned something that he should have had no knowledge of, unless he had overheard my conversation.

I dug through the house, and he had placed a listening device in my potted plant. I promptly threw it into the sewer.

shell4life

My nine-year-old son had started picking up some bad language, and I had a suspicion of where he was hearing it. I had recently hired a new babysitter for him after his older sister moved out, and I decided to use a wireless spy microphone to see if my assumptions were correct.

I placed the little gadget in the twists of the garland on the Christmas tree. When the babysitter came to do her duty a few days later, I caught her end of her telephone conversations with the spy gear.

She seemed to use every curse word I'd ever heard during just one conversation. She wasn't even angry at the person she was talking to; this was just her everyday language.

Instead of telling her I had spied on her, I simply told her we wouldn't be needing her services anymore because my son was going to stay with family while we were out. She didn't question this, but she probably thought he told on her.

Mammmood

@Charred - I don’t own any spy products but I do think that the spy microphone recorder is a cool device. They have two versions that fit inside a pen – one that just does audio, and another version that does video as well.

In the catalogs they advertise it as a way to record minutes in a meeting. I guess that’s the legal use. Many people will have more mischievous purposes in mind, but like you said, that’s their responsibility, not that of the manufacturer.

Charred

@David09 - I think spy stuff is cool personally. It’s up to the individual how they want to use them. That’s not the store’s responsibility.

It’s like these mp3 players that hold up to 20 gigabytes worth of music or something like that. Surely the majority of users out there won’t have that many songs that they want to rip off their CDs (the legal use of mp3 songs). They may download illegal musical to fill up that storage space.

That’s their fault, not the company’s. Sure they’re cashing in on the impulse, but that’s the free market for you.

David09

@JessiC - Whenever I come across websites of online stores that sell spy products, like spy gear, spy gadgets and audio surveillance equipment, I think of the words “fine print.”

Supposedly, these sites are selling these products for legitimate law enforcement or personal security purposes, and they can certainly be used in this manner.

However, they must know that a lot of people are using them for unlawful means as well. For example, it’s my understanding that tapping a phone call without the other party’s knowledge is illegal in most states, at least for the normal citizenry.

Yet you can bet a lot of people will be doing just that. Or they may want to eavesdrop on a lover or something else that’s shady.

The spy store insists that the gear is to be used for legitimate purposes only. However, they must know that many customers will use the products for illegal and or improper purposes.

Agni3

Whenever I think of a spy microphone I think of these movies and shows that have covert, unnamed government agencies listening to random people’s every word for their own evil gain.

I never really thought about these sorts of things actually being used until just now. It is kind of sad that we live in a world where all of the wacky conspiracy theories prove to be truer than just regular ‘life as we know it’ sometimes.

Oh well, if anyone is listening to my enthralling conversation about what I’m cooking for dinner tonight or how I’m potty training my son, then heaven help the boredom level of normalcy that they must endure in a day.

I’m sure they untuned from my completely conspiracy theory free life soon after they found it.

JessiC

Isn’t it scary that there are microphones that can pick up what you’re saying from a long distance? I sure think that this would somehow be an invasion of privacy. But I guess if you’re going after a criminal that sort of thing isn’t really an issue.

But for the rest of us, is it legal for others to simply randomly listen in on our conversations without us knowing it? And not only listening to them, but also recording them for later use. This seems highly shady and a little bit degrading to me.

I feel like I should be comfortable and confident that I can have a private conversation without fear that it is somehow covertly being recorded.

Of course, I have no idea why anyone would want to record my conversations since I’m about as typical a person as you’ll ever run across. I suppose it’s just the possibility that bothers me.

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    • Private investigators may use spy microphones to capture conservations.
      By: robert lerich
      Private investigators may use spy microphones to capture conservations.
    • Spy microphones may be concealed within jewelry and other ordinary items.
      By: Aaron Amat
      Spy microphones may be concealed within jewelry and other ordinary items.
    • Police use hidden spy microphones to listen to conservations of criminals.
      By: dmitrimaruta
      Police use hidden spy microphones to listen to conservations of criminals.