Men secretly filming women at night for profit, BBC reveals

A study has revealed that men are secretly recording women during their nights out and profiting by uploading the footage online.

The videos, frequently referred to as “walking tours” or “nightlife content,” are shared on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. They predominantly feature women in dresses and skirts, often captured from behind or at low angles, occasionally exposing private areas of the body.

We located almost 50 women who had been recorded and discovered that many did not realize what had occurred. They described emotions of fear and embarrassment.

A 21-year-old woman, who was captured from a low angle with her skirt visible, stated that viewing unauthorized footage of herself has left her feeling anxious every time she steps outside.

It has found over 65 online platforms featuring this kind of content, with videos that have been watched more than three billion times in the last three years. The videos highlight nightlife in major cities around the world such as London, Oslo, Miami, and Bangkok – however, one of the most popular places is Manchester.

Our group infiltrated the city, capturing footage of men secretly taping women during their evening outings, revealing some of the most active individuals connected to 12 accounts. This involved a local taxi driver and two men who had come from Sweden to film in the UK. Two additional men, whose channels state they are located in Norway and Monaco, were observed filming, although we couldn’t verify their identities.

Our inquiry serves as yet another instance of women being captured on camera in public spaces by men—typically for financial gain—without their permission or awareness.

A separate vestigationLast month, it was revealed how male influencers who claim to provide dating advice use smart glasses to capture discussions with women and subsequently share the videos online. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood responded by stating that the government would not allow new technology to be utilized in ways that lead to increased violence and harassment towards women and girls.

It is not illegal to record in public areas, but a legal expert who focuses on image-based abuse stated that such videos may exist in a legally “uncertain” zone and could potentially violate laws related to harassment and voyeurism.

Some of the videos we posted on YouTube are still accessible. The video-sharing site suspended two accounts following our communication with them regarding the results of our inquiry.

TikTok has taken down four accounts. Videos on Facebook and Instagram are still available.

It was late October, and Grace, not her real name, was outside a club in Manchester, taking pictures on her phone as she celebrated her friend’s 21st birthday. Her younger sister, Sophie, whose name has also been altered, was with them. She had recently turned 18 and this was her first time going clubbing in the city.

It was just an ordinary night,” says Grace. “We had no idea we were being recorded.

It wasn’t until we reached out to her that she learned a video capturing that moment had been uploaded to YouTube. The clip, which showed up her skirt, had been viewed over three million times by people online.

I carefully planned my outfit,” Grace remembers. “From eye level, everything was concealed. However, the angle in the video was lower. It made me wonder: how near was he?

Sophie was also present in the videos but did not receive much attention. She mentions that she is, like her sister, “totally paranoid these days” due to what occurred to them.

I haven’t gone out because I’m simply afraid,” she says. “This isn’t usual. It shouldn’t have occurred.

Grace and Sophie are part of thousands of women featured in hundreds of videos throughout this inquiry.

A single question lingers for both of them: who was recording and what was the reason behind it?

We have reviewed numerous hours of these videos, uploaded by various accounts. Certain highly viewed channels have accumulated over 200 million views.

Almost all video thumbnails highlight young women wearing dresses or skirts and high heels, with titles that indicate the presence of women in the content.

Numerous videos recorded in Manchester depict women moving between clubs and resting on the roadside, with the camera frequently focusing as they adjust their attire or lower their skirts. Hundreds of sexist remarks are visible beneath almost every video.

“Observe how these women are dressed; no wonder they face attacks,” someone commented, accompanied by a laughing emoji.

“They are from the streets,” “cellulitis night out,” and “little piglets all around” were additional remarks observed under videos.

Although we managed to recognize many of the women in the videos quite easily, the men who operated the channels proved more challenging to locate. These men do not employ their actual names online, yet some could be recognized through the use of publicly accessible information.

The video featuring Grace and Sophie was uploaded by a channel managed by an individual we have recognized as Florjan Reka, a 35-year-old residing in Sweden.

He manages one of the most active YouTube channels in his niche, boasting almost 200 million views and 399,000 subscribers, as well as a Facebook page with over 600,000 fans. We discovered that he has registered his channel as a company in Sweden, where he states he is engaged in “influencer activities, marketing, and advertising.”

We were curious about his methods, so we went in secret during the busy Halloween weekend in Manchester’s downtown area.

On the first evening, following a long wait, we observed Reka moving swiftly just before 02:00 accompanied by another individual, whom we later recognized as her brother – Roland.

At a certain moment, the brothers gave the impression of examining their phones at waist level. However, they were in fact using individual cameras at the same height, recording women who walked right next to them. The brothers appeared not to realize they were being observed by us.

We watched the couple, who separated to shoot outside various clubs, come back together during the night. On the second night of the weekend, they put on black masks, matching the attire of other guests dressed in costumes.

In the following days, fresh videos from the streets of Manchester began to surface on various social media profiles known to be associated with Florjan Reka. The content shared matched the angles we had seen the brothers use while filming.

A woman is shown attempting to lift her skirt as it slid down in the beginning of a video shared on the channel we linked to Roland Reka. In other clips, women are seen walking away while the camera captured them from a low perspective, revealing their buttocks. In one video, uploaded to Florjan Reka’s Facebook page, the camera focuses on a woman’s cleavage as she adjusts her top.

In every video, none of the women appear to be aware that they are being recorded.

We made attempts to reach Florjan Reka for a statement in the months after Halloween. When he did not reply, we went to Sweden to try to talk to him. He avoided answering questions on both occasions and did not respond to a letter placed in his mailbox.

During Halloween in Manchester, we also noticed three additional men filming women. They appeared to be acquainted with each other and with the Reka brothers, stopping to chat at different times throughout the night.

One of them was Dean Hill, a 36-year-old local taxi driver. We observed him recording with a compact camera pressed against his chest as he passed groups of girls, then turned back to capture them from behind.

He has viewed hundreds of hours of his videos. In some of the clips — comparable to the content shared by the Reka brothers — Hill is seen following women as they try to lower their skirts or fix their attire. In one instance, the camera follows a woman dressed in a Halloween costume for almost two minutes, at one point appearing to accelerate to keep up with her.

Hill firmly rejects any allegations of misconduct and stated that he does not record people or sensitive body areas, adding that his camera is always visible.

“I do not capture images of skirts, private body areas, or any type of nudity. I have not participated in upskirting or voyeuristic filming, and my videos do not include sexually explicit material,” he stated in a message.

The video is not curated and does not focus on any specific group. It shows anyone who happens to be in public areas when it was recorded.

I know that certain online content creators might use improper methods; nevertheless, my channel does not. Any claim suggesting otherwise does not represent the true character or intent of my material.

Another individual, whom we reached out to through his media platforms but have not been able to recognize, also claimed he did nothing improper or breached any guidelines. He mentioned that he only recorded nightlife and walking footage, and noted that he had removed several of his posts.

The police have not charged any of the individuals we have looked into with any illegal actions.

In 2024, Greater Manchester Police detained an individual on allegations of stalking and harassment, after receiving reports about comparable videos capturing women during their evenings out.

The agency stated that this was the first arrest of its kind in the nation. However, this month it announced that it would not pursue any further action against the individual due to “limitations in the existing laws,” while mentioning that it is looking into “civil options” to address the matter.

The business of secretly recording women during their evenings out might be generating “revenues in the millions of pounds,” according to Prof Annabelle Gawer, head of the Centre for Digital Economy at the University of Surrey.

“we’re discussing billions of total views throughout this entire system,” she states, noting that a video with a million views could generate as much as £5,000.

In accordance with UK legislation, recording in public areas is typically not against the law; however, numerous women we interviewed expressed feelings of anger and frustration due to the fact that these videos generated income for their creators.

This type of content falls within a “grey area” legally, according to Honza Cervenka, a lawyer at McAllister Olivarius who focuses on image-based sexual abuse.

“It walks the line regarding several different offenses, such as voyeurism and harassment, which is why it has had the room to expand and expand,” he says.

Regarding the offense of harassment, there must be a “pattern of behavior” involving two or more instances of harassing actions, which may consist of “harassment on the street followed by online harassment, such as posting or sharing the video,” according to Cervenka.

Sharing a video and then using a woman’s picture as a thumbnail for other videos might constitute harassment, he further states.

YouTube has suspended two accounts associated with Florjan Reka following our communication with the company regarding the results of our investigation. In a message on X, Florjan Reka requested a review of YouTube’s decision, stating that he only shares “public walking tour videos.”

Some of the videos we posted on YouTube are still available. The video-sharing site claims it “strictly follows” its community rules. It mentioned that by the end of 2025, it took down 1.8 million videos due to breaches of its harassment policies.

The other accounts connected to specific individuals are still active. One man seems to have changed his channel’s name, while another has deleted all his material.

TikTok has taken down four channels that we provided to them.

The channels we sent to Meta, which manages Facebook and Instagram, are still operational. The company informed us that it has taken down material that breached its guidelines.

The footage featuring Grace and Sophie is among the numerous ones that have been taken down.

The sisters claim it’s a minor success, yet Grace remains doubtful about its impact.

“He has the video of me on his phone or computer. What’s stopping him from sharing it once more?” she says.

It’s likely impossible to turn it off.

If you possess details regarding this narrative and wish to recount your experiences, please get in touch.shona.elliott@.co.uk. Include a phone number if you are open to talking to a reporter.