I’ve lost brand deals up to £50,000 since I’ve stopped showing my children’s faces online. Here’s why I made that decision

I’ve constantly shared my life online. I began publishing videos on YouTube in 2011, getting more than 210,000 customers. In 2017, I began publishing on Instagram, where I’ve developed a following of almost 250,000 by sharing style, charm, body positivity and psychological health material, together with a growing quantity of motherhood and parenting material.

A couple of weeks back, among my Instagram posts went viral. Not since I ‘d done something questionable, however since I ‘d shared something that’s nearly thought about taboo in the influencer world: I discussed how I ‘d lost ₤ 45,000 due to the fact that I no longer wished to reveal my kids’s faces online.

At the end of 2025, I decided to stop revealing my kids, Cyprus, aged 5, and Kamiko, aged 3, on social networks. I’ll still publish images and videos of them from the back or the side, however I’ll never ever reveal their faces. They’re maturing now and going to school, and I wish to secure their personal privacy. They’re likewise too young to grant me sharing their lives online.

It’s a choice I ‘d thought of at length for the majority of the year, and one I still wait. It’s likewise had an effect on possible work.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll understand I’ve constantly shared a lot of my life, from splits and relationships to the distressing experience I went through throughout the pandemic.

In December 2020, when I was 7 months pregnant with Cyprus, I suffered serious problems from COVID-19. It was a near-death experience that left me in a clinically caused coma for 3 months.

Cyprus was born too soon by means of emergency situation C-section, and I chose that sharing my healing belonged to my journey, too. That’s why I started producing more motherhood and parenting material. In October 2022, I had my 2nd kid, a child called Kamiko.

As my kids have actually grown older, my point of view has actually altered. With the increase of expert system, the threats of sharing individual details online and the absence of online security for kids, I feel that, as a mom, it’s my task to safeguard them as finest I can.

I do not evaluate other moms and dads who pick to reveal their kids’s faces online. This is just what feels right for our household.

My pals and household have not truly responded to my choice; I’ve not had a single reaction from them. The discuss social networks, nevertheless, have actually been a various story.

Fellow influencers, consisting of Megan Ellaby (@meganellaby; 232K fans), Olivia Bowen (@oliviadbowen; 2.9 M fans) and Medina Grillo (@grillodesigns; 1M fans), have actually praised my choice.

Much of my fans, a few of whom have actually matured with me and have actually been through whatever along with me, have actually likewise been helpful.

‘If the brand names are that troubled about having a face in the project they ought to work with kid stars to be in their marketing instead of a developer’s kids,’ a single person commented.

Another composed: ‘I’m beginning to believe children need to never ever be paid material. Ever. Not even if they’re unrecognisable.’

Obviously, there have actually likewise been individuals vital of my choice, due to the fact that I’m still sharing parts of my kids’s lives, despite the fact that I’m disappointing their faces.

In some cases, it seems like whether you’re in the general public eye or simply a mum setting about your life, you’re damned if you do and damned if you do not. I’m doing what I’m comfy with, and I can live with that.

While I’m open about a great deal of things, I’ve constantly had limits. I enjoy sharing material about my relationship, for instance, however I ‘d never ever go over arguments or personal disputes we have. The very same opts for my parenting material. I’ve constantly shared the enjoyable, delighted minutes with my kids, however I’ve never ever revealed them having temper tantrums, sobbing or being unhealthy.

It may not appear like it to my fans, however I turn off, too.

Any mom will understand that the hours in between 3pm and 7pm can be a little a rush: selecting the kids up from school, sitting them down for supper and getting them prepared for bed. Throughout those couple of hours, I’m not getting my phone to movie material. I’m there in the minute with my kids.

Later on, I’ll get my Kindle and check out a dark thriller. That’s how I decompress.

I believe this is a subject that resonates with a great deal of individuals, whether they’re influencers or just moms and dads and grandparents who publish photos of their kids or grandchildren online. Everybody needs to choose what they’re comfy sharing, however I think it’s essential to believe thoroughly about the long-lasting ramifications, too.

Because 2015, my task has actually been to earn money by sharing content online. And considering that having kids, whenever I’ve reserved household projects or dealt with a kids’s brand name, my kids have actually been compensated, with the cash entering into their cost savings accounts.

I comprehend that this is a subject individuals have strong sensations about, which lots of people in the market do not like to speak about it. I believe it’s essential to share my viewpoint, and ideally it may even be helpful to others.

That choice has actually come at a considerable monetary expense. Because I stopped revealing my kids’s faces online at the end of 2025, I’ve lost on 6 or 7 brand name offers.

I’m speaking about significant, widely known kids’s brand names, consisting of those offering toys and clothing. The truth that some projects need my kids’s faces to be noticeable is, if I’m totally sincere, a bit strange. The discussions my group and I have actually needed to have with these brand names have actually made me progressively uneasy.

I can comprehend why brand names may wish to reveal kids in their projects. It’s charming, it can be interesting and it may feel more commercially appealing. Everybody enjoys seeing charming kids doing adorable things?

That’s exactly the issue: anybody and everybody can see this material.

I believe brand names require to comprehend that kids’s faces do not need to be revealed for a project to be effective. There are many innovative methods to promote an item while appreciating limits that assist keep kids safe. Keeping kids’s faces off the web must be the standard, not the exception.

That isn’t the case for all brand names.

A few of the offers I’ve lost were with brand names I ‘d dealt with in the past. Others approached me after I ‘d currently stopped revealing my kids’s faces. We ‘d get to the lasts of signing the agreements, just for the brand names to take out when I ‘d discussed that I would not be revealing their faces. The costs for these offers varied from ₤ 5,000 to ₤ 50,000.

It’s discouraging, since I do not think a kid’s face must be a requirement for an effective project. There need to be space for developers to deal with brand names without needing to jeopardize on their household’s personal privacy.

The good news is, my viral post has actually likewise brought brand-new chances my method. I’ve simply signed a brand name handle Wagamama, which we enjoy consuming at, and they’ve stated it’s definitely great not to reveal my kids’s faces.

That’s especially motivating originating from a food brand name, where the project includes us consuming together. It reveals that there are methods to produce interesting household material without making kids’s deals with the focus.

I hope more brand names will get on board. I’m not stating that every moms and dad needs to make the very same choice as me, however I do believe we require to question why revealing kids’s faces has actually ended up being such an anticipated part of influencer marketing.

For me, securing my kids’s personal privacy is more vital than any brand name offer. I simply hope that, in future, more brand names will acknowledge that developers should not need to select in between the 2.

Discover Grace Victory on Instagram at @gracefvictory