PewDiePie Pulls the Plug on Family Vlogs to Shield His 3-Year-Old's Privacy

One of YouTube 's biggest names is tapping out of family vlogging, and honestly, it makes sense. PewDiePie is drawing a line to keep his kid out of the content machine.

What he said, and what it means

In a video posted May 23 titled "Ending the vlogs," Felix Kjellberg (yep, PewDiePie) said he and his wife Marzia will wind down their regular life-in-Japan vlog series in September. The reason is straightforward: their son Bjorn is growing up, and they want to give him privacy and a choice about being online.

"Now he's 3 years old, and we feel like it's a good time to end the vlogs. If he wants to be part of it, that should be his choice later."

Felix also made it clear they are not vanishing from the internet or becoming secrecy ninjas. You might still see the occasional photo or quick clip of Bjorn. What they are stepping away from is the ongoing grind of family-centered vlogs and the pressure that comes with consistently turning home life into content.

How we got here

This isn't a sudden pivot. The vlog series kicked off just before the couple relocated to Japan, with the original hook being: watch us figure out a new country. That move happened in 2022, and over the past four-plus years they've essentially kept a running diary of their day-to-day in Japan. The audience loved it, which kept the uploads coming longer than they initially planned. In the announcement video, Felix thanked everyone for sticking with them and said the support made a huge, weird life change feel a lot less lonely.

The bigger picture on his channel

Felix has been through multiple eras. He started in 2010 as one of YouTube's early gaming guys, shot to the top by 2013, and held the most-subscribed crown for more than a decade. To stay afloat that long, he kept reinventing: from Let's Plays to commentary to meme reviews to, more recently, low-key lifestyle vlogs. Since moving to Japan, the uploads slowed down and mellowed out. Add a child to the mix, and the boundary between public and private naturally got sharper. Recent videos already hinted at a pullback; now it's official.

• May 23: Video "Ending the vlogs" goes up.
• September: Regular life-in-Japan vlogs stop.
• Expect occasional photos or short clips of Bjorn, but no ongoing family series.
• Vlogs began just before the 2022 move to Japan and have covered that transition for over four years.
• Felix thanked viewers, saying their support made the move feel less lonely.

My quick take

This is the right move. Family vlogging comes with a ton of baggage, especially once a kid is old enough to have an opinion about being filmed. Felix gets that. If Bjorn wants to be on camera later, cool. If not, also cool. Either way, the channel survives without turning childhood into content — and after 14-plus years of reinventing himself, Felix will be fine.