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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Posting photos on Facebook but covering face...

59 replies

HappiD · 17/12/2020 18:10

Not an AIBU just posting for traffic.
I’m intrigued as to why someone would upload photos to FB of their baby but cover their face with stickers (as in Facebook stickers not real ones) I’ve never come across it before.

I know some people don’t like putting their children on FB but they either don’t post any pictures of their children or don’t have Facebook at all.

I’m not judging the lady in question, I’m just curious as to why. Is this a thing?

OP posts:
Crustmasiscoming · 17/12/2020 22:14

I've done it when I've been posting a picture to a mum's group when they were asking for recommendations for something and my child happened to be in the picture with the product, which nicely demonstrated the issue I'd had with the product. I would never normally post any pictures of them.

LoveMyKidsAndCats · 17/12/2020 22:19

I find it attention seeking. Just don't post them publicly. Share them privately. People are odd.

CatRamsey · 17/12/2020 22:22

This annoys me too! I kinda get it if it's a group/family photo and they just wanna hide one face but I know someone who posts pictures of just their child with their face covered... What's the point?!

MrsTerryPratchett · 17/12/2020 22:28

It's so odd that people find it attention seeking. My friends with adopted children do it. Why shouldn't they post a picture on a beach or at the park? Just they can't show faces.

I don't put stickers on DD's face. I also don't show her face on SM. So she's there with a mask on, or from the back or with her hands up. Old SW and I don't want her face there if she is t old enough to decide.

I suggest not getting riled up about things that don't affect you at all.

BoJoHoNo · 17/12/2020 22:33

It's so odd that people find it attention seeking. This. Surely all posts on FB are by their very nature 'attention seeking' as social media exists as a way to allow you to interact with others?

LoveMyKidsAndCats · 17/12/2020 22:38

Can you not post pics of adopted children? My cousin fosters and is allowed to post pics of the kids on fb. Not that she does it much but they appear in family pics.

LoveMyKidsAndCats · 17/12/2020 22:39

Surely if they are adopted they are then yours.

LindaEllen · 17/12/2020 22:41

Pisses me off too. If you're that arsed about your baby not being seen online, why even use a photo with the baby in at all?

Or, if your reasons for not wanting to share are genuine (wanting protection, privacy etc which are both perfectly valid) then why post photos of your life?

IMO people who do this are just attention seeking. It's as simple as that.

Thesearmsofmine · 17/12/2020 22:50

I have a friend who does this, her whole profile is locked down, she doesn’t use her real name and photos of her child are with her face covered or not in view. This is because she escaped from a very nasty relationship and she wants to post about her child and have those memories to look back on without the risk of her ex seeing it and recognising places they go or the area they live etc. Although she is careful with her settings etc you just never know.

MrsTerryPratchett · 17/12/2020 22:58

@LoveMyKidsAndCats

Surely if they are adopted they are then yours.
Have a little think about why children are sometimes in the situation of being adopted.
BoJoHoNo · 17/12/2020 23:12

Or, if your reasons for not wanting to share are genuine (wanting protection, privacy etc which are both perfectly valid) then why post photos of your life? And why not share them? Personally I quite like seeing my friend's photos updates about her adopted kids as I know how much she wanted to be a Mum from an early age. The fact I never see their faces is a total non issue for me.

To be honest if you put a photo line up of all my friend's kids who are of a similar age, I couldn't tell you who was who and some of these people are posting photos of their kids on a daily basis. Your kids are only really that interesting to you and probably a handful of close friends and family on Facebook. Most people have more Facebook 'friends' than just that small group of people. I find it odd that people get so wound up over what other people are posting. If you don't like it, unfollow or unfriend them surely?

2Kidsinatrenchcoat · 17/12/2020 23:12

I know someone who does this with her daughter and not her son. Neither are adopted. Her son is from a previous relationship though so I’m guessing it’s that her partner doesn’t want photos of their daughter on the internet.

byecorona2020 · 17/12/2020 23:14

People I know who have done this have adopted kids and they can’t risk the birth family finding them (for safeguarding reasons). They still want to post photos as a lot of parents do, but don’t want to show faces as birth family could trace them.
I’ve adopted and have just put normal photos on of my son. At first I was a bit cautious (social workers putting the fear in you to not do it as birth family could access facial recognition in the future.... 🙄), but then relaxed, but I also get why some adopted parents wouldn’t want to.

myhobbyisouting · 17/12/2020 23:17

🤣🤣

Our friends did this and the child wasn't even dressed. They wanted to protect his privacy apparently cause "you never know who is looking". The first picture they put on of him was his bare arse. Couldn't see his face though.

Rainallnight · 17/12/2020 23:26

I’m an adoptive parent and I only post photos of my DC facing away from the camera. To answer the ‘why post at all?’ question, well, I’m a person like lots of people who likes to mark moments in life by sharing them on social media, such as first day of school, summer holiday etc. I do it about twice a year and I don’t see why I shouldn’t just because some judgy bitches who have difficulty thinking outside their own life experience don’t like it.

SimonJT · 18/12/2020 05:26

@LoveMyKidsAndCats

Can you not post pics of adopted children? My cousin fosters and is allowed to post pics of the kids on fb. Not that she does it much but they appear in family pics.
You can, but if the birth family cannot be trusted then it isn’t safe. Most councils strictly forbid images of fostered children appearing anywhere.
ineedsun · 18/12/2020 06:34

Haven't RTFT but I post pictures because I want to a) store then somewhere and b) get reminders. I use FB a bit like a scrapbook. If people want to look that's fine but I'm not posting for them.

So if someone wants to post pictures of their kids but blank their faces out for security reasons it would seem sensible to me. Presumably they can go back years later and edit the picture to remove the sticker if they want to see the original version.

ineedsun · 18/12/2020 06:38

@Rainallnight

I’m an adoptive parent and I only post photos of my DC facing away from the camera. To answer the ‘why post at all?’ question, well, I’m a person like lots of people who likes to mark moments in life by sharing them on social media, such as first day of school, summer holiday etc. I do it about twice a year and I don’t see why I shouldn’t just because some judgy bitches who have difficulty thinking outside their own life experience don’t like it.
Exactly
mutantelfoftraal · 18/12/2020 06:49

Those stickers are easily removed in photoshop unless they are done properly.

Remmy123 · 18/12/2020 06:53

It's v odd- just don't bother doing it at all!!!

footprintsintheslow · 19/12/2020 08:11

@mutantelfoftraal

Those stickers are easily removed in photoshop unless they are done properly.
My understanding of that is it's a myth. Happy to be told otherwise by someone more technical.
slipperywhensparticus · 19/12/2020 08:16

You can remove the stickers the advice is to use the scribble tool and scribble it out

And don't show nipples even boy nips will get you a ban

RiverMeadow · 19/12/2020 08:24

I just don't understand why people post pictures of their children on SM at all. Surely it's our job to protect our children, not plaster them all over SM for 'likes'??!! Nothing is private now.

yeOldeTrout · 19/12/2020 08:27

I don't care about the stickers...

Just Why would paedos devote time to looking at clothed little children on private social media accounts when there are hundreds of thousands of online pics of nuddy babies: artistic, medical, drawings, cartoons, illegal repulsive. People only need to walk down the street to find real child faces, too.

If the only pics of small children online were only ever found on private social media, or if children were never seen in public, you''d have a concern.

grumpytoddler1 · 19/12/2020 08:42

If you look at family vloggers or big family Instagram accounts, the majority of the followers and viewers are adult males. And these parents are making money out of this. I find that hugely concerning.

It's slightly different for ordinary people posting on Facebook, but if one of the reasons for covering your children's faces or only showing them from the back is because you don't want paedophiles to get hold of the photos, then as others have said, why put them on there at all?