What Is Only Fans and Why Is It So Dangerous?

What is OnlyFans and Why Is It So Dangerous?

What is OnlyFans and why is it so dangerous?

You may have heard of the increasingly popular OnlyFans in the news lately. Since the start of the pandemic, the streaming platform has grown by over 553%. And it isn’t slowing down.

But what does a streaming site have to do with accountability? What a lot of people don’t know is that OnlyFans has a dark side to it: pornography, harassment, stalking, and even sex trafficking are all-too-common on this “anything goes” website. Is OnlyFans safe? We need to talk about that!

In this article, we’ll look into the background of OnlyFans, why it’s so dangerous, and how we can protect ourselves and our kids from the serious threat that it poses.

What is OnlyFans?

Why is OnlyFans so dangerous?

How do we stay safe?

The Latest News on OnlyFans

What is OnlyFans?

OnlyFans is an online streaming platform and app created in 2016 where users can pay for private content (photos, videos, and live streams) with a monthly subscription. Fitness trainers, models, public figures, and other “content creators” use the platform to grow and monetize their fanbase.

But unlike YouTube, Instagram, or Snapchat, OnlyFans allows explicit sexual content.

Because OnlyFans is by subscription only, content creators can share nude photos of themselves, live stream pornographic videos, and even virtually interact with their subscribers.

Effectively, OnlyFans is live porn. But it is also so much more than that.

Why is OnlyFans so dangerous?

The platform has become increasingly popular for people who have become unemployed during the pandemic, but it is also popular among sex workers. With a subscription, anyone can find and view sex workers and pornographic actors without ever visiting a porn site.

This makes OnlyFans especially dangerous for kids.

Children are using OnlyFans

The BBC recently looked into the rise of children under the age of 18 selling explicit content on –– guess what platform – OnlyFans. Even though OnlyFans claims to have a verification process to keep children off the platform, these kids are using fake IDs, parents’ passports, or photos of friends to fake their identity and begin creating “content.”

These children might begin by just live streaming hobbies like music and fitness, but the promise of easy money is a downward spiral. With the incentive to get more subscribers and more money, a lot of creators get sucked into producing more and more explicit material because:

the fans want more of it
the fans are ready to pay for more of it
it seems to be safe and private

OnlyFans isn’t so private

So, is OnlyFans safe and private? OnlyFans claims that the site’s content is private and can’t be viewed without a subscription. Only, this isn’t true.

There have been countless cases of creators’ content being screen-shot, recorded, or hacked on the site. This content is then shared on the internet where it can be infinitely replicated. And once something is on the public internet, it is almost impossible to delete.

Sadly, a lot of these child and adult performers will be haunted by their images and videos for their entire lives.

Predators & traffickers use OnlyFans

What better place to scout for vulnerable young performers?

One of the scariest things about OnlyFans is that you can’t choose who subscribes to your content. So, even if you or a teenager is streaming fun content about their makeup routine, a predator can subscribe and begin speaking with them.

This kind of relationship can go south fast, especially if a predator or sex trafficker is encouraging a creator to slowly post more and more sexual videos or images. Predators are very skilled at this kind of grooming.

Highschool girls think OnlyFans has career potential

Vulnerable high school teens’ attitudes have been influenced by the likes of Andrew Tate and others. Fast cars, big money, and “owning” beautiful arm candy are intoxicating (and toxic) ideas.

As a result, “pick me” girls have a saying: “Only ugly girls get diplomas” in certain high school cultures. Hoping to make it big on OnlyFans, they plan to drop out of high school when they turn 18.

Parents and educators need to talk openly about these dangerous trends that can derail a teen’s potential.

The harsh reality about income potential on OnlyFans?

“Most content creators make less than $200 a month on OnlyFans. This isn’t even a livable wage, let alone the fortune that OnlyFans purports anyone can make on their site. Reports say that the top 1% of accounts make 33% of all the money, and the top 10% of accounts make 73% of all the money.”
~ Fight the New Drug, Heidi Olson

Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) are an exploding problem thanks to sites like OnlyFans

So-called “child porn” is illegal and should be called CSAM. Sites like OnlyFans encourage and hide CSAM, and even worse, Self-Generated CSAM.

While organizations like the Internet Watch Foundation work tirelessly to remove CSAM, they report that they can’t keep up with the flood of online CSAM.

This is only one of the many ways that porn harms children, because more and more children are getting hooked on porn.

How do we stay safe?

Even if YOU haven’t heard about it, your partner, your kids, and your friends probably have.

Because OnlyFans is growing in popularity with memes and pop song references, more celebrities are heading over to make an account.

In fact, celebrities and influencers often lure teens to OnlyFans by creating a “thirst trap” on popular social media sites like Instagram and TikTok.

So you must learn to protect your kids, yourself, and your loved ones.

Here’s how.

Protecting yourself

Not all accountability software flags OnlyFans. Ours does. But to further protect yourself, we have a few tips:

Make sure EverAccountable is installed on ALL your devices
Talk to your accountability partner (AP) if OnlyFans is a potential stumbling block for you. As with any stumbling block, talk to your AP
Be careful with what you post on ANY online platform; if it’s on the internet, it’s not coming off
If you want to follow someone online, don’t use OnlyFans. It’s a slippery slope, and way too easy to get sucked in

Protecting your kids

Perhaps the most vulnerable potential victims of OnlyFans are children. Here are a few tips on how to keep them safe:

Place parental controls on all of their internet-accessible devices. Use our GUIDE to talk to your kids before you give them a phone.
If your child is over 16 years old, install Ever Accountable on ALL their devices. Remember: OnlyFans can be accessed through desktop AND mobile devices.
Ensure you have secured your OWN devices; keep them locked and password protected.
Keep your personal IDs (licenses, passports) in safe, secure locations. Children can’t open OnlyFans accounts without adult IDs.
Talk to your kids about the dangers on the internet. Ask your teens if they’ve heard about it at school, or if they have friends that are using it to make money. Encourage them to find other, safer ways to make money.

The latest news on OnlyFans

After some pressure from their banking partners, OnlyFans announced that it would block sexually explicit photos and videos starting October 1st, 2021.

But…

After receiving a lot of backlash from their large user base of pornographic actors, OnlyFans reversed the decision to ban sexual content. Now perverse sexual content evolves continually on OnlyFans, like highly sexualized forms of hiphop music.

In fact, some young women like Haliey Welch are publicly hypersexualized and pressured to start OnlyFans accounts.

Or you have teachers like Brianna Coppage sparking public controversy due to their side-gigs on OnlyFans. Despite some of its own efforts to become a “better” and safer online community, OnlyFans may have created a monster they can’t control.

At Ever Accountable, we publicly decry OnlyFans’ dehumanization of people. The porn industry abuses real people. Or, like OnlyFans, it teaches them to abuse themselves. Instead, we believe you are worthy of love.

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