'AITA for backing out of housesitting for someone because of their new cameras?'

"AITA for backing out of housesitting for someone because of their new cameras?"

Context: I work in corporate, handle highly sensitive and classified information, and take many calls around tech & trade "secrets". Due to work I will not be taking time off for Thanksgiving. A friendly couple lives two hours away. They planned to travel for 4 days during Thanksgiving, and asked early in September if I could house-sit.

Due to location they have difficulty finding someone (no family/friends close by), and randos are either unreliable or super expensive. I have done this a few times, and since my partner would be away during those days, I accepted.

They're 20ish minutes away from the nearest town, and have several security measures in place, including cameras in every room except the bathrooms. I know and don't mind this at all.

A week later they politely inquired if I would be open to stay longer, so they could extend their vacation from the 20th-30th and organize a family reunion. I checked with my partner (who then also extended his away time) and confirmed I would be perfectly happy to do this.

The house is amazing -pool, hot tub, home theater, massive kitchen- so overall it is a treat, despite the 2h drive to get there, and me working throughout my stay. At their insistence they have always paid me a token amount, even though they fully stock up for house-sitters and I would do it for free.

They are taking a mini-trip to our area, and we met yesterday for dinner. It came up that they upgraded their security system to cameras that also record sound.

I asked how can I turn that feature off and they said 1) they don't know if it's possible outside the mobile app, which I won't have access to, 2) they just got them installed and they would rather I don't turn it off/tamper with the cameras at all, like the other times I house-sat for them.

I told them that won't work. If their new cameras record sound, I would not be able to take any calls in the office or at all, unless I go in the bathrooms or outside, neither of which I am willing to do. I told them these are my boundaries (happy to do it but I want total control of the camera sound while I'm there), and to think about it and let me know asap.

They are -understandably- upset because 1) they extended their away time only after they confirmed I would be available, and now they can't cancel and get refunds on tickets and bookings, 2) finding someone so last minute (due to location) is a lot more difficult, let alone stressful, 3) it would cost a lot to find someone random to house-sit for the original 4 days during Thanksgiving, let alone 10 etc.

My partner later suggested I should reconsider working during Thanksgiving week, take a break, and treat this as a vacation for myself.

That way I can both relax and not inconvenience our friends. But 1) I am swamped with work and can't slow down right now, and 2) were I to not work during Thanksgiving, I would rather join him and not house-sit alone in the boonies. AITA for backing out "last minute" over this detail?

Edit since it has been brought up in a few comments: when they asked in September, they had the same setup as before (cameras in every room, video only) with which I was familiar and ok.

While to me it seems excessive, they live isolated in the woods, and there have been break-ins in the past, and they can take whatever measures they see fit for their property with no judgement from my part. They only upgraded a few weeks ago to the +audio ones, over a month after they originally asked me, and they did inform me last night.

Here's what people had to say to OP:

Demon803 wrote:

NTA, they upgraded their system, they for sure can turn off the audio. heck I have cheapo cameras and they all allow me to turn off the audio.

OP responded:

This was brought up during the dinner, but due to lack of room in the main post I couldn't add it. I did ask if they can turn off the audio from the app themselves, even if just in the office, and they weren't sure if they can turn it off in only one room.

Given how reluctant they seemed overall, when I discussed this with my partner, he agreed that they could say they turned the sound off, but I won't have any way of confirming whether they followed through.

They could choose to turn it off and on at their discretion, but I wouldn't be able to know. We have known them for years, so I know they're not that kind of people, but it is still a worry, not to mention a security concern for my work.

CrewelSummer wrote:

NTA. When they were confirming the dates with you, they also should have notified you of the updates to their cameras. You have to be pretty oblivious not to be aware of the increased liabilities of recording audio as opposed to just video, and while maybe they are just that oblivious, that's not your problem to resolve for them.

You cannot housesit for them while their cameras record audio because it creates a conflict with your ability to take work calls during that timeframe. They can find someone else, cancel the trip, figure out how to turn the audio off, or turn the cameras off entirely during that time. But those are their options.

OP responded:

I didn't add this to the original due to wordcount, but I responded to another comment. They upgraded a few weeks ago, after they confirmed the dates with me. So when we originally agreed, they had their old setup.

I don't think they considered my situation when they upgraded, they have their own reasons for this level of security (which to me is excessive but they live somewhat "alone in the woods" so I kind of get it).

While I don't begrudge them their choices though, it simply doesn't work for my line of work. Hence my partner asking if I can not work instead, and just relax and treat this as a vacation...which I still am not sure how comfortable I would be having sound recorded, even if I was just chilling in their space.

Wonderful_Two_6710 wrote:

INFO: were they aware of your job's security requirements? If so, NTA. I do find it incredibly creepy, though, that they'd want video and sound recording of a house sitter. If I was the owner, I'd turn the inside cameras and recorders completely off. Why are they unwilling to do this?

OP responded:

Yes, they were aware. They have an office I work from with multi-monitor setup that faces away from the camera in that room, which I have previously used several times and have expressed it works for me without having to move any screens. I just bring my docking station, connect my laptop, and I am good to go.

MegWithSocks wrote:

NTA, you said you would still house sit if they turned off the sound recording. You’re not leaving them high and dry with a non refundable vacation — they are refusing to turn off sound recording. I do have a question — what in their house is so important it needs a full time sitter? They have cameras in every room of their house, seems they can keep an eye on it themselves.

OP responded:

I can't speak for them because it is their life. I can understand though. If I lived 20-30 mins away from the nearest town, in a big luxurious house filled with my life's belongings, and in a wooded area, I would probably also want a good security system. Not sure if I'd need a camera in every room but they had break-ins before.

Plus even if something did happen, they are pretty far away from the nearest police station to do much. So I understand them preferring to have the house occupied to deter break-ins rather than just record them when they happen, since there won't be much to be done at that point, other than their house insurance premiums going up.

ReadMeDrMemory wrote:

NTA. They changed the situation in a major way and are being stiff-necked about accommodating your needs, which it sounds like they could easily do. They could turn off that feature with the mobile app (and presumably you could have access to the app if they'd let you). They just hope you'll knuckle under.

Longjumping_Win4291 wrote:

NTA. You didn't change your mind at the last minute for nothing, they omitted to tell you their new security features now picks up sound. You have the right housesit without being monitored, that's the whole point you are there to secure the house. They don't need to secure the security person too.

It's a simple fix on their end turn off the security camera's while you're staying and everyone is happy; except they want their cake and eat it too and they can't. They need to choose what is more important to them. The ball is in their court and now they need to make a decision either way.

Howlpen wrote:

NTA. Clearly their camera sound violates your work requirements. Turning off the system is an inconvenience to them, and they seem to think it's MORE of an inconvenience to figure out how to turn them off than finding a house sitter. That's their decision, not yours.