Argus vs Hidden Camera Bug Detector
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Argus
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Argus checks an unfamiliar room for hidden cameras with four scans that all run on your iPhone: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a lens-reflection camera finder and a magnetometer. The camera finder is free, with no scan limit and no account. Hotel rooms, Airbnbs and holiday rentals, changing rooms, gym lockers, bathrooms, rental cars. No single method finds every camera: one in a smoke detector might sit on the room's Wi-Fi, or record to a memory card and touch no network at all. WI-FI SCANNER Finds the devices on the network you joined that answer a scan. Argus Pro lists each one with how fast it answered, which known camera and DVR ports are open and, when a port answers, what the service says about itself โ often the firmware. Blind spot: hotel guest Wi-Fi often isolates devices from each other, so an empty result there does not mean the room is clean. BLUETOOTH SCANNER Finds nearby Bluetooth LE devices that are advertising โ trackers and battery-powered gadgets โ and needs no network. Argus Pro lists each one with its signal strength. Blind spot: a device that is paired and silent does not advertise. CAMERA FINDER โ LENS REFLECTION Turns the camera into a lens finder: it watches for the tight bright glint a lens returns when light hits it. Lights off, torch on, then sweep smoke detectors, clocks, chargers, vents, the TV and mirrors slowly and close. This is the scan most people mean by a hidden camera detector. Blind spot: it needs a dark room by design, and any shiny point can glint โ a flag means look closer. MAGNET SCANNER Reads the magnetometer for the change in magnetic field that electronics and magnets hidden inside everyday objects cause โ the check for something with no radio at all. Blind spot: plumbing, screws and structural metal move the needle too โ a reading means look closer. A FIVE-MINUTE SWEEP Join the room's Wi-Fi and scan it. Run Bluetooth from the bed, then the bathroom. Lights off, torch on, sweep everything facing the bed with the camera finder. Pass the magnet scanner over whatever stood out. One signal is a question; if two checks point at the same object, inspect it closely. HONEST ABOUT THE LIMITS No app can guarantee every hidden device is found. A phone has no thermal camera and no RF detector, so a camera that is off, records locally or uses its own SIM is the hard case โ which is exactly why Argus runs four scans instead of one. PRIVACY No account, no ads. What a scan finds โ device names, addresses, readings โ stays on your iPhone. Camera frames and magnetometer readings are never recorded; only Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scans are saved, on your phone, where you can delete them. Apple and RevenueCat handle subscriptions; crash reports and usage analytics (screens, scans, purchases) are not linked to you. No advertising identifier, no tracking across apps. FREE, AND ARGUS PRO Free, in full: the Camera Finder, with no scan limit. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth also run free and report how many devices answered and how many of them are unidentified. Argus Pro adds: the full device list with addresses and names where a device sends one; for Bluetooth, signal and safety score; for Wi-Fi, response time, open ports and the service reply; and the Magnet Scanner. Requires iOS 16 or later. Scanner-by-scanner limits and a step-by-step hotel sweep: https://tatrom.github.io/ Argus Pro is a weekly or yearly auto-renewable subscription. The price is shown in the app before you subscribe. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://tatrom.github.io/privacy-terms/terms-of-use.html Privacy Policy: https://tatrom.github.io/privacy-terms/privacy-policy.html Questions or feedback? Write to us, we read every message.
Hidden Camera Bug Detector
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Vigil turns your phone into a five-channel sweep for hidden cameras, microphones and trackers. It is the check worth doing before you unpack in a hotel room, a holiday rental, a changing room or an office. FIVE WAYS TO FIND A CAMERA Infrared: night-vision cameras flood a dark room with light your eyes cannot see. The front camera can see it, and Vigil under-exposes the sensor until only the emitters are left. Lens glint: glass reflects light straight back at its source. Sweep with the torch and a lens answers with a small, hard, motionless spark. Magnetic: every camera worth hiding holds a magnet and a switching supply, both of which bend the local field. This is the only channel that finds a camera that is switched off. Wi-Fi: lists every device on the network you are on and flags the ones answering on the ports IP cameras stream over. Bluetooth: finds battery cameras, voice recorders and trackers that advertise themselves, and tells you when one is getting closer. WHERE TO LOOK Smoke detectors, air vents, alarm clocks, chargers, mirrors, TV bezels, power strips, air fresheners and decorative holes. Each mode explains what it is measuring and how to sweep properly. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Every scan runs on your device. No video is recorded, no network data leaves the phone, no account is needed and nothing is uploaded โ a privacy tool that phoned home would be a contradiction. Vigil raises suspicion, it does not prove anything. If you find something you cannot explain, stop, leave it in place and call the front desk or the police. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Argus and Hidden Camera Bug Detector are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Argus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days and Hidden Camera Bug Detector sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Argus | Hidden Camera Bug Detector |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | โ |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 โ better | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roman Hadiiev | HALIME USLU |
In-app purchases
Argus
- Weekly$7.997 Days
- Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year
Hidden Camera Bug Detector
- Vigil Pro Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
- Vigil Pro Yearly$49.991 Year





