Victoria posts several times a week on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, documenting her daily life. She vlogs her Target runs, films her hair-care routine, creates baking videos and more, all while never showing her face.
“I feel like a lot of content creators who show their face have this pressure and judgment over their looks or identity,” says Victoria (@elysian.living), a woman in her 20s in New York City who asked to be referred to by her first name only to protect her identity. “I never really wanted to put my face out there.”
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Since launching her account in January 2023, she has amassed an audience of more than 1.9 million followers on TikTok and 2.2 million on YouTube. One of her most popular videos on YouTube, which shows herself prepping a bath, has more than 80 million views.
Victoria is just one member of a burgeoning class of creators getting famous without showing their face. These faceless influencers make up a fast-rising category of the creator economy. They are forging major brand partnerships and, in some cases, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in revenue. Their rise indicates a broader shift in how creators navigate privacy and personal boundaries, and redefines what it takes to succeed as an influencer.
“We’re seeing an increase in faceless content as more camera-shy people try to make it as a content creator,” says James Nord, founder and CEO of Fohr, an influencer marketing company in New York. Social media users enjoy the videos, too. “You can only look at so many strangers a day,” Nord notes. “There’s something refreshing about seeing videos that aren’t focused on a face.”
Unlike traditional influencers who often build their brands around a personal image and personality, faceless creators emphasize the aesthetic and functional aspects of their content. They intentionally keep their identities hidden, and some even conceal their face in their profile photo. The most common faceless influencer categories are home organization, product reviews and lifestyle content, where videos are almost always shot from the influencer’s point of view.
You’ve likely seen their videos in your feed already. Most videos feature a woman’s hands, expertly restocking a pantry, organizing shoes or unlocking her car and taking it to the car wash. The videos often are hypnotic and aesthetically driven with cohesive color schemes and sometimes include a voiceover narrating the onscreen footage.
“It’s a way to enjoy content without feeling like you have to invest in someone’s personality,” says Monica Brady (@midwesternmama29), a TikTok content creator who has amassed more than 4.4 million followers without showing her face. “People like to watch people clean, they like to watch people shop, and they don’t want to really hear people talk or see their face.”
As social media has become overrun with fast-paced, attention-grabbing videos, faceless content can feel refreshing, users say. “Faceless videos are less aggressive; there’s a simplicity to them that’s a nice break from other videos on the platforms,” says Nord. “As most social media videos are getting louder, more extreme and brighter, faceless creators are like a cooling balm.”
Caroline Moss, founder and host of Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!, a product recommendation podcast and community, says that she loves to consume content from faceless creators. “I think [the videos] break up content on Instagram really well,” she explains. “They’re usually just showing hands moving, and all of the spaces that they’re creating content in are very clean and organized and it kind of puts you into a trance.”
Faceless creators skew heavily female, and the vast majority of the accounts on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are run by and followed by women. Kandice Breinholt (@kandicebreinholt), a mother and faceless creator in Utah, says she started her account in 2021. “I decided to do it partly because of insecurity but mainly because of privacy,” she notes. She includes a photo of herself and her children in her avatar on Instagram, but aside from that protects her identity.
Lois Chartrand (@lifewith_lois), a faceless creator in Nebraska, points out that she doesn’t even post her face on Instagram stories. As a mother, she says that she likes how being a faceless influencer means not having to do hair and makeup and be on camera. “I do not want to get fully ready to film a video,” Chartrand says. “I don’t love even being on camera — I think it’s very awkward being seen.”
Several women note that while faceless influencing does eliminate a lot of scrutiny, followers still judge the parts of you that they can see in videos.
“I feel like I’m a hand model for what I do,” says Chartrand. “There have been a couple times where I’ve stopped getting my nails done and my [Instagram] Reels do not do as well. People will really come for you if your nails are not in good order.”
Faceless content creation is still a lot of work, too. While skipping hair and makeup might save time, planning, shooting and editing content, then promoting it while engaging with an ever-growing audience requires a lot of effort. “It takes a few hours to do a video that is like 30 seconds of something that looks very straightforward,” says Chartrand. “It looks as though I filmed the process, but really I thought through every single movement I had to make, for every single angle. So it takes quite a while.”
Faceless creators often manufacture their videos by using a neck holder for their phone. The footage, shot outward without featuring their face, is then edited into seamless content that tells a narrative or highlights products. The rise of wearable recording devices, such as Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses that record high-quality video, has made creating faceless content even easier.
Because faceless creators’ videos usually center on products, the creators have become a valuable asset to marketers looking to reach new audiences. “Faceless creators have become the modern-day QVC,” says Kai Watson, a director at Palette MGMT, a talent management and marketing company. “They’re showing the products that they’re buying, how they’re using them, and they’re generating significant revenue from the platforms.”
The rise of TikTok Shop and Amazon’s affiliate marketing programs, which allow creators to earn money through products they promote, have helped faceless influencers monetize directly as well. Watson says that because many of these faceless creators feature products so heavily in their content, they are well positioned to launch their own product lines. “Being a creator isn’t just about expressing yourself, it’s also become a way for millions to make a living,” notes Eric Wei, co-CEO of Karat, a financial services company for creators.
There are some drawbacks to being a faceless creator. Anonymity means creators can’t access some of the perks of being famous or micro-famous, such as free meals or VIP invites. A faceless aesthetic account also is easier to copy than a face-forward, personality-driven page.
At least one high-profile faceless creator, Kaeli Mae McEwen (@kaelimaee), who has amassed more than 14.6 million followers on TikTok through her “clean girl” minimalist lifestyle videos, has recently begun showing her full face in more videos. So far, fans have responded positively. “kaeli mae you are glowing ,” one person commented on a recent “get ready with me” video.
For those looking to get started in faceless influencing, there is a growing number of courses and online guides. Brittany Carey, 34, a faceless influencer in Victoria, British Columbia, sells a $55-a-month course called “Faceless & Filthy Rich,” targeting the “camera-shy girlies who want to learn to make incognito income.”
“People say, ‘How can anyone connect to an account that doesn’t have a face?’ ” Carey says. “But on the faceless side of things, the communities are much stronger than on face-forward accounts. They’re not about how your body or your face looks. There’s no visual comparison. It’s just human connection.”
This story appeared in the Oct. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
