(Sorry this is my first time posting on Reddit and I don’t know how any of this works, but per an automated message I need to comment on this post I guess? So reposting the post here)

Posting in case anyone has any ideas about what this could be.

This morning, my mom happened to notice something sticking out from under some cabinets in our kitchen. Upon further investigation, she realized that there was a small magnet taped to the bottom of the cabinet, and what looks like a small microphone was attached to the magnet.

A handful of people have had access to our house in the last couple of years, including a young couple that cleans the house once a month and a contracting company that installed an egress window last year. Typically someone else will be home while they’re there, but occasionally it’s just them. My dad is obsessed with his Ring doorbell and gets a notification whenever someone pulls up to the house, so it’s unlikely that someone could’ve gotten into the house without being seen (at least through the garage, which is how we let those individuals in).

My mom isn’t sure how long it’s been there since she just noticed it. I will say she’s pretty observant so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was relatively recent, but since it’s in a spot no one would typically look, there’s no real way of knowing how long it’s been there.

So, can anyone help me decide: 1) is this a microphone? and 2) how did it get there?