Aside from being SFW, a key feature of BrandArmy is that it lets teenagers get in on the hustle, offering their very own “Junior Channels”, which allow under-18s to cash in on their image by offering exclusive content for subscribers only. But just how safe is a service like BrandArmy for kids?
What is BrandArmy?
From sports stars to podcasters, subscription services like BrandArmy allow creators to directly reach their followers and provide them with exclusive content, such as livestreams, direct chats, pictures and videos. Some subscription services have become synonymous with porn, but there are many platforms allowing creators to earn cash without taking their clothes off, and BrandArmy is just one more.
Junior Channels on BrandArmy
BrandArmy asserts that its young creators come from a diverse background: some are professional dancers, voiceover artists and actors, while others are social media influencers, instructors, or reality TV stars. The one thing they all have in common, however, is that they’re under the age of 18, selling content to adults on the internet.
How old do you have to be to join BrandArmy?
In the case of creator accounts for minors, they must get permission to sign up from a parent or guardian, and their account is also directly supervised, or “parent managed” (as BrandArmy puts it in their guidelines for Junior Channels), by an adult close to the minor.
Is BrandArmy like Onlyfans?
That said, content where nudity is implied is allowed when creators are 18 or over, meaning users can request or view “sexy” content on BrandArmy without witnessing explicitly sexual acts. In addition, younger users are allowed to post pictures of themselves in bikinis – the platform even has a policy on this for its underage creators:
“Must have 50/50 mix of bikini content. This is NOT a bikinis only for teenagers platform…Situational bikini content (Ex. at a bonfire with friends) versus just standing/modeling for photos specifically to be sold and only doing that are very different things.”
Other prohibitions for underage include barring specific emojis being used (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?,?), not using flirtatious or sexual language in captions and DMs, not being able to dance on livestreams for tips, and uploading sexually suggestive content, among various other rules and regulations.
Is BrandArmy safe for children?
When looking around BrandArmy’s page and some of the profiles featured on their site, who happen to be minors, it suddenly doesn’t seem like such a safe, regulated space for children. Some of the red flags in the Junior Channels and around the BrandArmy website we spotted were:
- Suggestive photos in prime position – on some of the profiles, girls under the age of 18 pose for their featured picture in bikinis or cropped clothing.
- Links to Amazon wishlists in member profiles, requesting costumes, clothing, and other items that fans can purchase for them to feature in streams, images, and custom content. Many of these costumes could be considered inappropriate for minors, such as lingerie or tight-fitting activewear.
- Profiles featured on social media, the website, and other areas of BrandArmy’s marketing largely promote accounts run by women or teenage girls.
Perhaps alone, this wouldn’t be quite so worrying – after all, teenage girls and other young influencers attract a teenage audience, so this type of featured content could be geared to fans of a similar age looking up to an influencer their age. However, the most concerning thing surrounding BrandArmy is the signup age for fan accounts (set at 18, according to their FAQ page).
BrandArmy: Qustodio’s final recommendation
Despite BrandArmy’s theme of being a “safe for work” OnlyFans, we’d argue that this only applies for the content creators on the platform aged 18 and up. For minors, BrandArmy in theory seems like a safer space for younger creators to monetize their content and reach new fans, but in practice, selling exclusive content to subscribers could be dangerous, to say the least.
While the target market for BrandArmy creators is limited to budding influencers, it’s important to understand and be involved as much as possible with what your child is posting about on social media, and the image they’re creating for themselves online. If your teen or tween does have any social media presence, and you’re worried about sites like BrandArmy, have conversations about the content they upload, how important it is to keep things private on social media, and the risks behind maintaining an open profile online.
Finally, if you’re concerned about the social apps and websites your child could be accessing, a parental control tool like Qustodio can help keep track of the sites that they visit, block access to unwanted platforms such as BrandArmy, and limit time on or fully block social media apps – helping them stay safe as they navigate the online world.
