Keke Palmer On Setting 'Personal Boundaries' Around What She Shares About Her Life Now: 'I've Learned A lot' (Exclusive)

The star opens up to PEOPLE about life in the spotlight, and the changes she's made amid the glare

Keke Palmer is not an open book anymore — and there's a good reason.

The star and influencer, 30, who recently served as key note speaker at the Black Magic Reimagined conference on Oct. 1, is known for being unapologetically candid. She's long shared details of her private world, be it her life as a mom to son Leodis, 7 months, or her relationship with his dad Darius Jackson. But now Palmer tells PEOPLE that she's needed to make changes to how transparent she's willing to be with the public.

"The thing with social media is that it can easily be a place where you can work, but it also blurs the line between what is work and what is real life," says Palmer. "I can't control how everybody's going to take something. And also I'm having my own personal boundaries for what I feel like I want out there or what I want to give people the opportunity to speak on."

In recent months there's been particular speculation around the star's relationship with Jackson, who made headlines when he publicly criticized the outfit Palmer wore to watch Usher perform at his Las Vegas Residency in July, writing on X (formerly Twitter) at the time, "It's the outfit tho.. you a mom."

Related: Keke Palmer Offers Advice to Other Single Moms: 'Pour Into Yourself, Have Fun' (Exclusive)

Since the rumored drama, the two have posted outings together including lunch for her 30th birthday and attending Beyoncé's Renaissance tour stop in Las Angeles. Last week the actress and musician showcased photos of him as well as their son Leo during a sweet slideshow as part of her Big Boss Tour stop at Webster Hall in New York City.

That said, Palmer has been steadily dodging questions about the status of their relationship since this summer, most notably telling Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush-Hager to "Mind y'all's business," when they asked about Jackson during a recent episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna.

Related: Keke Palmer Plays Coy About Relationship Status with Darius Jackson: 'Mind Y'all's Business'

Says Palmer now, "I think I learned a lot of different things along the way in terms of what my boundaries are, what I'm willing to share, what I'm not willing to share." She adds, "I think it's hard to defend yourself to people that don't even know you or that already have so many preconceived notions about you."

These days, she's not adhering to any outside pressure. "You end up getting to a position where you're like, 'Well, wait a minute. Let me just do me and not be so reactive to other people'," she says. "'Let's not let my choices be so much in a reaction to how other people are treating me'."

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