Instagram account outed for posting voyeuristic photos of pregnant women in Singapore

An Instagram account sharing only pictures of pregnant women in Singapore who didn't seem to know that their photos were being taken and uploaded online has been outed.

With over 5,000 followers, the Instagram account holds over 5,600 posts of random women in public, including on the MRT, in shopping malls or even on the streets. While most of the photos are of expecting women in Singapore, some posts appear to have been taken overseas, including Hong Kong. 

Aside from the common thread of clearly pregnant women throughout the posts, the pictures shared appear to be hastily taken and without the subject’s knowledge. 

Some of the women also appear as if they realised their photo was being surreptitiously taken, judging from their direct gaze into the lens. 

Furthermore, it seems the photographer takes multiple shots of the women each time. 

A woman took to Facebook yesterday (Aug 27) to urge others to make a police report about the Instagram account, which remains public and active as of writing. 

The account follows 326 other Instagram profiles that revolve around pregnancy and maternity, including other similar accounts that exclusively post pictures of expectant mothers. 

According to Singapore Legal Advice, this does not constitute a breach of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) as the person who took the photos did so in their personal capacity in a public area. 

Those who had their picture taken and published without consent are advised to request the other party to remove the photo. 

”Should that party not comply with your request and/or should you seek compensation from him as well, you may then consider taking legal action,” Singapore Legal Advice posted. 

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AsiaOne has reached out to the administrator behind the Instagram account. 

ilyas@asiaone.com