New mum Binky Felstead has been under fire since yesterday when she shared a photo on Instagram with a caption promoting Bubble, a babysitting app.
The picture, showing adorable little India in her 27-year-old mum's arms, was captioned, "Finding great babysitters to look after our bubbas is tough...So Mums, check out the @bubblebabysittingapp.I’ve been using it a lot recently – it’s been a saviour being a working mummy.
"All sitters on the app have passed a background check and you can see the sitters your friends use and their reviews from other parents. You can pick someone that's totally right for you and it’s cashless too, which I absolutely love. Search bubble babysitter in the app store."
A number of the Made In Chelsea star's 1.4M Insta fans were incensed at the photo. They criticised her promotion as misleading and even potentially dangerous.
"This is actually the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read," commented one person, "What sane person would leave their child with a random from an app? Absolutely disgraceful marketing ploy from someone who should know better!"
Another quipped, "This app could be offering up Mary Poppins as a babysitter and I still wouldn’t use it for my little one."
"I really think you should disclose how much you got paid for this post. Parents should be making informed decisions about their children, not ones based on the fact that you have been paid to pretend you use something," wrote one fired-up critic.
"I don't know anyone who would leave their child with a stranger found through an app, let alone an extremely well known wealthy personality," another Insta user validly pointed out.
Some Binky fans came to the reality star's defense, though.
"Doesn’t everyone who uses a childminder, in essence, leave their child with a stranger the first few weeks?" shot back one commenter.
Another person added, "Judge judge judge judge judge! Everyone needs to get off their high horses and stop being so superior!"
As far as the safety of the app itself goes, Bubble explains on their website that every babysitter on their platform undergoes an online background check before having their profile approved.
That background check involves cross-referencing their name against criminal watchlists and a media check that searches millions of published articles to find if there is any negative news about the person.
This is not the same as a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check. Sitters are allowed to say they have a DBS check on their profile. Bubble themselves do not verify if the check is real, so they advise parents to ask for proof.
What do you think, mums? Would you ever use an app to find a babysitter?
