Has Mrs Hinch been banned from Instagram?
CLEANING expert Mrs Hinch has landed herself in hot water after she failed to mention a key point in her Instagram story.
The 33-year-old has amassed 4.6 million followers since bursting on to the scene back in 2018.
Has Mrs Hinch been banned from Instagram?
Sophie Hinchcliffe, who has 4.6 million followers on her Mrs Hinch Instagram account, has had two posts banned after she missed a key detail in her story.
On January 7, 2023, Mrs Hinch posted a story showing off a notebook which featured the text: "If you’re a little mad like me tap here for yours."
Clicking the link on the story took users to the relevant product page on the Amazon website.
The video then finished with the front cover of the notebook which said "Mrs Hinch Life in Lists" while the influencer stated: "In my own notebook of course."
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Mrs Hinch's post attracted 34 complaints.
Those who objected to the post said that it was not obvious that she was advertising her own notebook.
More complaints were laid against the influencer over a separate post on the social media platform.
The upload showed off heart-shaped bowls of different sizes.
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The text read: "On a right roll here. Even put some 'nibbles' (In my own hinch heart bowls, I love em) #hinchxtesco."
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) weighed in on the posts and banned both of them from being shared again.
When it came to the notebook, the ASA said the money-making intent of the post was "ambiguous" and it would have expected it to have included a "prominent label to identify it as an ad".
With the heart-shaped bowl post, the ASA said: "Whilst that text may have given some indication to consumers that Ms Hinchliffe had been involved in designing the bowls, it was not explicitly made clear, and we considered that it was also not clear that she received royalties from their sale.
"We also understood that the ad was similar in style to non-ad content created by Sophie Hinchliffe who, as a home cleaning influencer, often shared lifestyle tips on Instagram.
"As such, we considered that it needed to be made explicitly clear when content such as this, where she offered advice to her followers, was linked to a commercial deal that benefited her financially."
What has Mrs Hinch said?
Mrs Hinch said she would be happy to include "ad" within future social media posts that included links to her own products.
The ASA noted that the line "Mrs Hinch Life in Lists", and her statement that it was "In my own notebook of course", only appeared at the end of the ad.
It said: "We considered the ad was not immediately clear as to Ms Hinchliffe's commercial relationship with the notebook."
The influencer confirmed the notebook was her own design and said she thought it was obvious that she was trying to sell her own product.
In regards to the heart-shaped bowl, both Mrs Hinch and Tesco confirmed that she had been receiving royalties from the products that formed part of her range.
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However, the ad did not form part of their agreement as it had expired more than two months earlier.
Mrs Hinch explained that the ad was created "organically" and not as part of any obligation to market the products.