Peacock imposes a strict new rule on Love Island USA following ‘bullying and online hatred’
It seems the producers were perturbed by the 2025 season
Love Island USA is back for a season eight, but with a huge rule change. Peacock were reportedly so concerned by the “bullying and online hatred” surrounding season seven that now the Islanders and their families are subject to different restrictions.
So, most Love Island viewers are probably aware that Islanders are banned from taking their actual phones into the villa. Participants get special devices that can take photos and receive messages from producers, but can’t do much else. When somebody enters the villa, the usual drill is for their family or friends to manage their social media pages on their behalf. This can be fun for viewers, as friends often share extra context about subjects Islanders mention on the show. Sometimes, friends and family even weigh in on the mess and create more drama. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case for Love Island season eight.
A viewer asked Sean‘s sister Brice on TikTok whether she’d be managing his socials while he was in the villa. Brice wrote back: “They are not allowed to post on socials while they are filming! We are not allowed to post for them either.”
Usually, when the cast are unveiled for a new season of Love Island, contestants will be tagged in announcements on social media. Islanders often change their profile pics to their headshots from the show, and put that they are competing in their bios. However, if you peruse the 2026 cast’s social media pages, you’ll see their Instas are looking pretty sparse. You’d never have been able to guess they were participating in Love Island USA.
It seems the 2026 Islanders are not allowed to elect a friend to manage their social media pages while they’re in the villa. The team at Peacock don’t seem to be helping run their accounts, either.
A source from the Love Island USA production has now explained the new rule to The Sun. They said: “It was a strategic move that has been discussed ever since the end of last season when the bullying and online hatred was at an all-time high.
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“They know they cannot control the fans’ reactions online so the only thing they can do is control how that reaction gets to the cast and try to limit that as much as possible. The U.K. show already uses precautionary measures and the U.S. is going to start implementing it more and more.
“This is not a one-off decision. This is how they will handle this show, at least, moving forward. And if it proves to be successful, other Peacock shows will follow suit.”
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