Most momfluencers are expected to share content about their kids. Here's what happens when they don't.

As a mom of two, Sarah Adams "never felt comfortable" posting about her kids online. But she started to also feel uneasy about seeing how prominently the children of the people she followed on social media were featured in their content.

“I kind of had an awakening watching a story or scrolling through my feed," she says. "It hit me — why do I know this child’s schedule? And what they had for breakfast? And what they are wearing to school? And their doctor’s appointments?"

Adams stopped following momfluencers who she felt over-shared about their children online. She's now an outspoken advocate for children's digital privacy through her Mom Uncharted platform, which poses the question, in the age of momfluencers and other content creators posting thousands of photos and tracking their child’s every move online, should parents be using kids as content?

"All children, all humans deserve the right to privacy, informed consent and safety, and having so much of your image and information posted publicly on the internet really compromises that,” says Adams, whose advocacy work also raises alarm bells about concerns like "digital kidnapping" — in which strangers pass off images of a child as their own — child exploitation and sexualization of minors. And then there's the routine negativity that occurs online.

In response to these concerns, some momfluencers have stopped sharing content about their kids. Earlier this year Emily Haswell stopped posting her infant daughter on TikTok in response to negative comments from followers, some of whom also speculated (wrongly) that the child might have an eye condition. “The internet is full of creeps and you are never going to find me having my children perform for the camera,” Haswell told followers in a TikTok explaining her decision to keep her baby off the social media platform. Other momfluencers like Maia Knight, who blurs out some of the photos of her kids’ faces, and Laurah Fritz, who announced she'd be moving her family off TikTok, have similarly pulled back. (Haswell, Knight and Fritz could not be reached for comment.)

Here’s how other momfluencers are navigating the complicated line between content creation and child privacy.

“You never really know who is watching."

Long Island, N.Y. momfluencer Emma Nacewicz, a first-time mom to daughter Demi, 9 months old, focuses her social media influence on promoting self-love and acceptance of all bodies, particularly through the lens of motherhood. She and her husband have long talked about how to take precautions online before having kids.

“I’ve always been so open with my followers and they have been along for every up and down in my life for the past five years, so I was so excited to share Demi with them," she says. "But I knew I had to protect her because unfortunately you really never know who is watching."

Part of her hesitation came from watching another TikTok influencer discuss having a stalker. “He was able to find out a lot about her just from watching her videos and seeing the places she tagged and checked into, so that made me weary and conscious to not post where we are, until after we left, or post locations we frequent," Nacewicz says.

While Demi does appear on her feed, Nacewicz has taken some precautions with her posts. “I never post where exactly we live, what doctor I take her to, where we go for activities or if we are on vacation," she notes.

“It's easier for me to not share them."

Nova Scotia-based momfluencer and food content creator Alex MacLaren teaches about feeding her family of five — including three kids ages 1, 4 and 5 — on a budget. She used to post milestones and family photos on personal social media accounts, but says she’d eventually end up feeling anxious and deleting them. “I’m glad I made that decision before my account grew," MacLaren says.

Now, she doesn’t share her children's faces or their personal information. ‘You can often hear them in the background, and if they pop on screen I blur their faces," she says. It’s an extra step that takes some effort. “It can be a bit more challenging and time-consuming to edit kids out when they pop into the frame, and I have to be a bit mindful about how specific the information I share is. I tend to get in my own head and be anxious about things, [so] it’s easier for me to not share them because then I don’t have to second-guess my content.”

She’s openly discussed the family rules around posting content related to the kids with her oldest child, who originally asked why she couldn’t be on her “website." “Their role in my content is so minimal and I comb through and rewatch the footage before posting," MacLaren adds.

"I'd rather forgo authenticity if it means respecting my kids' privacy."

As someone who has been a content creator since 2009, Houston-based momfluencer and anesthesiologist Kristina Braly has seen her fair share of doxxing and trolling. But she thinks the internet landscape might be changing for the better. “I think we are fortunately coming out of the 'mean girl era' of internet bullying, as we enact stricter laws and tighten our protections around easily influenced young minds, as well as teaching young people growing up with social media the proper online etiquette,” she says.

Braly's kids, ages 2 and 5, aren’t prominently featured on her Instagram, though mom life is. She tries to carefully walk the line between consent and authenticity as she thinks through what to share.

“It's hard to find a balance between privacy and sharing 'real life' moments to maintain authenticity.," she admits. "When you only share a highlight reel, you lose authenticity because you're not showing vulnerable moments or 'real life' mom moments. That can be challenging. But I'd rather forgo authenticity if it means respecting my kids' privacy. My kids will always come first.”

Her kids know enough to be able to say "no" already. “The other day I was vlogging and one of my children was in the background and they glared at me and said, 'No camera, Mama!'" Braly shares. "I immediately redirected the camera and made sure to edit them out of the footage later, but I chuckled because they are such big personalities and I'm so proud of their confidence and outspoken nature.”

“Brands want to see kids."

Hamilton, Ontario-based momfluencer Libby Ward focuses her content on mental health, trauma and society’s expectations of mothers. The mom of two made the decision to never show her children's faces or share their names publicly online.

“My children do not understand the ramifications of having their lives shared on social media and therefore are not able to give me informed consent," she explains. "I want to prioritize both their well-being and my relationship with them and I believe keeping them off of a public platform is a big part of that. I also know that there are dark places on the web where people use images of children with ill-intended purposes. All in all I keep my kids private because of consent, well-being and safety.”

But not showing her kids, who are 6 and 8, does have a downside.

“It limits the brand partnerships and paid work I can do because brands want to see kids," Ward shares. "Lastly, it is hard not showing them because I love them, am proud of them and would love to show them off to the world because of it — but I don't believe it's worth the risk and it does feel exploitative."

Ultimately, being a mom first and foremost means protecting her kids, “which is exactly what I am doing keeping them off of my public platforms.”

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