A mother who has turned her children into Instagram stars revealed she has to stop strangers stealing the snaps to advertise clothes on eBay.
Aleksandra Hoyles, 32, from South Yorkshire, has built up a 150,000-strong following by sharing photos of her photogenic son Liam, 10, and daughter Lily, four.
The mother-of-two, who is married to Piya, often shares wholesome pictures of family life which have helped her bag £25,000 worth of freebies in six years – including a TV and designer clothes.
However she told FEMAIL that she has repeatedly spotted pictures of her and Lily on listings websites eBay and Aliexpress, which prompted her to put a ‘don’t steal my pictures’ warning at the top of the Instagram account.
Aleksandra Hoyles, 32, from South Yorkshire, gathered 151,000 followers on Instagram after sharing pictures of her family (pictured with Lily and Liam and husband Piya)
The mother-of-two has bagged £25,000 worth of freebies so far, thanks to the adorable snaps of her son Liam, ten and her daughter Lily, four, dressed in ‘nice clothes’ (pictured)
Lily combing her hair in her room. Aleksandra said she only took pictures of her children when they felt like it
‘Shops or people who sell similar clothes to what we promote are using my pictures without my permission,’ she explained. ‘Our pictures with matching dresses are all over eBay and Chinese websites who sell clothing. That’s the only minus.’
Aleksandra, a stay-at-home mother originally from Poland, said she was into social media before starting her Instagram account.
However in 2013, when Liam was four, Aleksandra was encouraged by a friend to get on Instagram and learnt how to use hashtags to grow her following.
The mother-of-two built up a steady following as she shared snaps of her young son decked out in carefully chosen outfits
The mother-of-two said she has started to charge brands £50 to £100 per post, but did not make small businesses pay (Lily taking her doll for a spin)
All the money Aleksandra earns from her Instagram account, she puts away in a saving account for her children (pictured: Lily and Liam)
Aleksandra is often flooded with brands sending her children items in hope to be featured in one of her posts
Aleksandra said sellers on eBay marketed their clothes by using pictures stolen from her Instagram such as the one pictured above
After Lily’s birth in 2015, Aleksandra started adding photos of her daughter and found she gained even more followers and started to get attention from UK brands.
She started sharing pictures of both of the children on Instagram to an ever-growing audience of online fans, most women.
Aleksandra continued: ‘They love when I share toys because they are unsure what to buy so they can see on my stories – what the product looks like and if it’s worth buying.
‘They also like the clothes, or when I go to high street retailers and they can see what’s in store.
The mother-of-two said she knows her children will rapidly outgrow the nice clothes she dresses them in
‘Sometimes if they live outside UK they send screenshots of my stories to friends who live in the UK to purchase items for them.’
And she revealed fans are also invested in the family’s welfare, saying: ‘They love when I share something about us as a family like when we found something funny with the kids.’
The mother explained that the more her following grew, the more brands were asking her to tag them in her posts in exchange for products, which allowed her to start charging big brands £50 to £100 per post.
She added that she did not ask small businesses of independent brands to pay a fee, and added she had received £25,000 of free products so far in six years.
Aleksandra’s following grew exponentially after the birth of Lily in 2015, after she occasionally started sharing snaps of her daughter
The happy mother says she has received any type of free items, from clothes and toys to furniture and even a TV
Her treasure trove includes items from retailers like River island, Matalan, F&F clothing, LOL dolls or Smiggle, as well as accessories, toys, bedroom furniture, and even a TV, which was most surprising to Aleksandra, who ‘didn’t ever expected someone will want to collaborate with us for something different than clothes.’
The mother, who said she was very grateful for her online following, said she tries to shop smartly in order to help her children look their best.
She said that she did not only dress them in designer labels but was also a huge fan of the high street.
She added: ‘And I’m not shy to buy something from charity shops. I don’t spend much on clothing. I try to dress Lily in everything from previous collaborations.
‘Maybe only last week I spent £20 in Primark for few bits and bobs but usually I just do stories for my followers from stores and end up not buying anything for me or Lily.
‘She has a lot of clothes from collaborations and it would be a shame not to wear them again.’
She added that while Liam and Lily are unaware of their Insta-fame, she only snaps pictures of them when they wanted to.
She said: ‘Liam just sees it as mum’s hobby and Lily doesn’t understand it very well yet.’
Aleksandra says Liam and Lily (pictured) were unaware of their Insta-fame, but said she only snapped pictures of them when they wanted to
Mother and daughter snap! Aleksandra said some people use her pictures to advertise their clothes on eBay without permission