Legal situation for listening devices

What is allowed?

In principle, eavesdropping on conversations and rooms is prohibited by law for private individuals. In contrast to private individuals, who are not allowed to eavesdrop on other people, eavesdropping by state investigative authorities is permissible under certain circumstances.

Eavesdropping by state authorities

Even without the knowledge of those affected, non-publicly spoken words in a home may be eavesdropped on and recorded using technical means, within the clearly defined limits of a code of criminal procedure, if particularly serious crimes are present and the clarification and investigation of the facts would otherwise be disproportionately difficult or hopeless. Such eavesdropping may only be directed against the accused and in their home.

Can conversations be recorded without consent?

No! It is prohibited to record the non-publicly spoken word of another person on a sound carrier or to use such a recording or make it accessible to a third party. Therefore, recording a conversation without the consent of the involved parties is punishable. The distribution of such recordings, obtained through secret listening, is also punishable, and this applies even to the attempt to violate the confidentiality of the spoken word. Additionally, there is the possibility of confiscating sound carriers and listening devices used by the perpetrator under certain circumstances. Generally, the violation of the confidentiality of the spoken word is considered a so-called application offense. This means, e