‘Then it dawned on me, they’re having an affair’: Life as a professional eavesdropper
Snooping, listening in, conducting important research. Whatever you want to call it, we all eavesdrop from time to time.
In bathrooms stalls, at café tables, on the bus – sometimes, you hear a nugget of conversation, and it’s too irresistible to ignore.
Earwigging has spawned countless social media accounts. The ‘Overheard at…’ Instagram profiles, which feature conversations from cities and universities across the globe, have more than 4,000,000 followers combined.
And, it turns out, we’re not just being nosey — it’s part of the human condition.
‘We’re wired to scan our environments for social information,’ says Dr Heather Mckee, a behavioural change specialist.
‘It’s a core evolutionary principle. Overhearing conversations gives us social learning, our brain is doing what it’s evolved to do: taking in information and processing it.
‘Behaviourally, gossip plays an important role in bonding, social norm setting, and sense making — especially in female and marginalised groups.’
And for one content creator, eavesdropping has even become a career.
Uncle CCTV, who chooses not to share his real name, went viral in October 2025 after sharing videos of himself listening in on nearby conversations.
From relationships dramas to family rows, he records his real-time reactions to piping hot tea, as it’s spilt.
His videos have become so popular, Uncle CCTV is now booked to perform at comedy shows and fringe festivals across the UK.
Speaking to Metro, he explains that his eavesdropping career began by chance.
‘I walked into a pub looking for somewhere to chill, and I saw this nice looking couple,’ he says.
‘It was so wonderful to see two people in love, especially in this chaotic world we’re in at the moment.’
But, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
He continues: ‘Something dawned on me and I thought to myself, ‘I “think they’re cheating”. My head was racing and I just thought, “I need to record this”.’
The couple soon left the pub, leaving both Uncle CCTV (and the entire internet) wondering whether or not he had just witnessed an affair.
But nevertheless, undeterred, it inspired the comedian to keep recording snippets of overheard chats.
He says one of his most memorable overheard conversations happened between a woman and a man who may or may not have been her boyfriend.
‘I was sat scouting for stories, and I saw a couple sat together nearby, I’m not sure if he was her boyfriend, but either way she farted…
‘She then said to him “I’ve just farted”, he immediately looked really angry and all of a sudden got up and walked away!
‘I did think, she should’ve just kept it to herself.’
Now, Uncle CCTV has become so popular, he’s started wearing disguises while on eavesdropping duties, and says he’s always shocked by how much people reveal about themselves in public places.
‘No one is truly aware of what’s going on around them,’ he says.
‘They’ll be complaining about their boss or bitching about their mother-in-law and they don’t realise others are listening in.
‘We’ve become so comfortable talking about our most intimate, private thoughts in public.’
Is eavesdropping morally wrong?
While Uncle CCTV has a blossoming comedy career thanks to overhearing, its begs the question whether it’s okay to covertly listen in to someone’s private conversations.
In a world of oversharing online, and where a walk down a busy high street involves dodging TikTokers, have we all become a little too accustomed to being all up in each others’ business?
Dr Heather says that ‘context matters’ here.
‘If you accidentally hear something on the tube it’d be different from actively listening in or recording information to manipulate or harm someone,’ she says. ‘The line gets crossed when listening becomes exploitative.’
And, there have been some incidences where eavesdropping has backfired in a seriously big way.
Back in 2018, comedian Rosey Blair was on a flight with her boyfriend, when she asked a young woman if she’d switch seats, so the pair could sit together.
Rosey joked to her boyfriend that the young woman’s new seat partner could be ‘the love of her life’ — and then, she began tweeting.
Every moment and conversation between the man and the woman, dubbed #PrettyPlaneGirl, was live blogged by Rosey. Personal information about the pair — including that they were both PTs and vegetarians — was shared, all with the hashtag #PlaneBae. Images of the man and woman were also posted.
The thread went viral, with the initial tweet shared more than 300,000 times.
But this was not the romcom it had been portrayed to be. #PrettyPlaneGirlhad not wanted world-wide attention.
Do you think it's okay to eavesdrop?
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No, if you're having a juicy conversation in public, I'm listening
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Yes, it's rude to listen to other people's chats
Eventually, #PrettyPlaneGirl shared a statement, via her lawyers, revealing that she’d been harassed and doxed since the thread had gone viral.
‘I did not ask for and do not seek attention.’ she said. ‘#PlaneBae is not a romance – it is a digital-age cautionary tale about privacy, identity, ethics, and consent.’
Uncle CCTV says he’s careful to protect the identity of those he films, by making sure he always conceals both their faces and their voices.
You’ll never see any other people in his videos, only his real-time reactions.
When does eavesdropping cross a line?
When you’re in a public space, your right to privacy is actually pretty limited.
For example, as long as you’re on public land, you do not need someone’s permission to take their photograph or film them.
And while this might feel like an invasion, unless it creeps into the realm of ‘intimate surveillance’, you can’t do much about it.
‘The key question is what are you doing with the information you hear,’ says Dr Heather.
‘The behaviour isn’t inherently bad, but it’s the use of the information and how we translate that really matters.’
Social media also has changed how we view privacy, it’s not only normalised snooping, it often encourages it – whether it’s snapping a funny photo to send to a friend or recording a clip in hopes it’ll go viral.
Dr Heather continues: ‘It’s difficult because it is such a grey zone morally, it’s not about silencing curiosity but it’s about acting with consent, compassion, and care for the people on the other end of it.’
Are you guilty of eavesdropping?
Metro asked readers how they feel about eavesdropping. Jessica Corrigan, 25, says she’s been ‘nosey since birth’ — and she’s not ashamed by it.
‘I just love to know everyone’s business all the time, so if that makes me an eavesdropper, so be it.
‘If I’m on the tube and spot a spicy conversation going down nearby, trust me I will pause my music and tune in.’
Blaise Kelly, 26, says she does most of her eavesdropping whilst in ‘eyelash jail’, AKA, when she’s sat in the salon waiting for her lash tint to dry.
For her, ‘information gathering is an important life skill’ and she considers nosiness a form of learning, as opposed to an invasion of privacy.
Meanwhile, Rovie Hernandez, 28, calls eavesdropping ‘low-lift escapism.’
He says: ‘I’m not going to pretend, I love eavesdropping, especially when it’s random strangers.
‘For a small amount of time, it keeps me distracted from what’s going on with myself personally, I become engrossed in someone else.’
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