There are a handful of content-sharing platforms that allow creators to earn money online. Patreon and OnlyFans are popular options, but OnlyFans is by far the most controversial because for several years it has let creators upload any kind of content, including porn, and lock it behind a paywall.
OnlyFans has been around since 2016 and is best known for being used by sex workers, though celebrities like Cardi B and Bella Thorne have also used it at one point to earn an income. Some TikTok and Instagram creators also point their followers to OnlyFans, where they promise exclusive content in exchange for money.
OnlyFans – which has amassed a base of more than 190 million – caused quite a stir in the only community when it announced it would ban sexually explicit content in late 2021. However, it only took a few days for the company to backtrack.
Here’s what you need to know about OnlyFans.
OnlyFans
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a content-sharing platform, based in London. Founded by Timothy Stokely, it is a website only with no official apps. Creators can use it to offer videos, photos, and even chances to chat one-on-one for a price. It is popular in the adult entertainment industry.
The New York Times even ran a story in early 2019 that claimed OnlyFans had changed sex work forever, dubbing OnlyFans “the paywall of porn”.
Who uses OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is used by all sorts of creators. Models, musicians, actors, physical fitness experts, and influencers all use OnlyFans to generate extra revenue. They can receive money directly from fans on a monthly basis or from tips and the pay-per-view feature. Blac Chyna, for instance, charged fans $10 a month to access her OnlyFans page (now deleted), and rapper Rubi Rose made $100,000 on OnlyFans in two days by posting photos from her Instagram.
Actress Bella Thorne also claimed to make more than $2 million on OnlyFans in one week. Here’s a small selection of notable people on OnlyFans:
How to join OnlyFans
Go to the OnlyFans website to create an account. You can create an account from scratch, or you can join with your Twitter or Google account. Once your account is created, you should be routed to the Home page. We recommend going to your Account settings page first if you want to change your username, email, and other preferences. The sidebar on the left lets you access your Profile, Security, and Notification settings.
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Go to Profile to change your display name, set a subscription price, and more.
How does OnlyFans work?
On desktop, when you log in to OnlyFans.com, you are greeted with a left rail with these options: Home, Notifications, Messages, Bookmarks, Lists, Subscriptions, Add Card, My Profile, and More. (On mobile, you see the bottom navigation bar has Home, Notifications, Create post, Messages, and More.) Most of these pages are self-explanatory, but the main ones are detailed below.
Home
Home is where you can see your feed – a stream of content shared by those you follow, including your close friends. You will also see suggestions for more people to follow on OnlyFans. At the top of the Home page, there is a search bar so you can look for other creators and users to follow.
Ready to start sharing? Go to the Home page to compose a new post and share it with your fans. You can even add media or start a poll. On mobile, to share, just hit the + in the navigation bar.
Notifications
From the Notifications page, you can see your notifications. Go figure, right? These include past interactions, liked, subscribed, tipped, and more.
Messages
If you have contacts, like someone you subscribe to or even a fan, you can go to the Chats page to start direct messaging them. Self-explanatory.
More
The More menu slides out, and this is where you can see your display name, username, and the number of fans and followers. You can also access your profile from Menu, as well as bookmarks, lists, settings, cards, bank info, and enable a dark mode. You can log out, too.
How to earn subscription money with OnlyFans
To start earning on OnlyFans, you need to add your payment information, verify your account, and set your subscription price. After you’ve done all that, you’ll be free to start creating posts and locking them behind your paywall.
Add payment info and verify your account
Once you’re logged into OnlyFans, go to the Menu and select Add Bank. You need to be 18-years-old and you will need to verify your account. OnlyFans will ask for your personal data, like your name, address, date of birth, and your ID documents such as a passport or driver’s license. It also asks if you plan to post porn. US creators will also need to complete their W-9 form (learn more about this from the OnlyFans Help hub here).
Set subscription price
To set your subscription price, go to the Menu, select Profile, click the Edit Profile button, and look for Subscription Price and Bundles. There, you can set an amount per month. You must add your bank account or payment information before you can set your price or accept tips.
How to earn from pay-per-view messages
There are additional tools you can use to make money on OnlyFans, including pay-per-view messages or PPVs. This is content that you share, via message, with your fans, but they have to pay to view it!
You can send PPVs to individual accounts by going into your messages, composing a message to the account, attaching your media, and clicking the price tag in the bottom right to set your price.
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To send PPVs to all of your fans at once, go to the messaging page and select new message and All subscribers. Add your message, attach your media, and click the price tag icon to set your price. Click send, and it’ll send to all of your subscribers.
Selling merch on OnlyFans
As you can see there are several ways for creators to earn money on OnlyFans. Another one is to connect a Spring store with your OnlyFans account. This allows you to sell your merchandise right on OnlyFans with ease.
With this Spring integration, you can sell everything from stickers to notebooks, backpacks, t-shirts and much more besides. If you haven’t already done so you’ll need to set up a Spring account and start creating products that you can sell that your fans will love. Once that’s done you can then connect the two accounts together and show products on your OnlyFans page.
How to become a fan/subscribe to creators
OK, so let’s say you don’t want to be a creator and instead you want to be a fan on OnlyFans. Create your OnlyFans account and then go to the Home page and start looking for someone to follow. Once you find them, you can tap the star icon on their profile to favourite them or save them to a list.
You will also see their subscription tiers on their profile. Bella Thorne, for instance, charges $7.50 a month. For many OnlyFans accounts you can see when owner is online because the profile will say “available now”. Often profiles will also say when the owner was last seen.
This is one example of what it’s like to be a fan and subscribe to a creator on OnlyFans. As we’ve explained above, you can also PPV or tip a creator if you don’t wish to subscribe monthly. Some OnlyFans creators also link to their Amazon wishlists, where you can purchase items for them. Just keep in mind this is separate from OnlyFans and it does not guarantee access to their content. Make sense?
Note: If you want to subscribe to a creator, first add a bank card (Menu > Add Card). When you subscribe to users, OnlyFans will charge your card.
OnlyFans
Is there an OnlyFans app?
No, there is no fully-fledged OnlyFans app for iPhone or Android. But there is an OFTV app. It’s a paired-down version of OnlyFans that is free to access on Android, iOS, Apple TV, Roku, FireTV, and Android TV.
You won’t find any adult content on there. It primarily serves up content from creators “spanning a wide variety of genres including fitness, cooking, comedy, music, and more”. But don’t forget you can always access the OnlyFans website from your mobile web browser on your phone.
Why did OnlyFans try to ban porn?
The UK-based company announced on 19 August 2021 it planned to ban the posting of any content containing sexually explicit conduct, citing a need to comply “banking partners and payout providers”, according to a statement provided to the media. The statement elaborated: “In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines”.
Let’s not forget that, because OnlyFans has hosted X-rated content, the service is available only on the web, not on mobile app platforms including iOS and Android. Axios claimed OnlyFans has struggled to find outside investors because it allows creators to post explicit content. Perhaps app stores and potential investors were all unable to get past the porn issue? If so, it’s no surprise then that OnlyFans thought it needed to “clean up” to secure funding.
Keep in mind OnlyFans has already tested banning porn. It recently launched OFTV, a free streaming service that doesn’t allow sexually explicit material. Instead, it features original content from more than 100 creators. OFTV currently streams over 800 videos – from fitness to cooking – on its platform.
On 25 August 2021 OnlyFans abruptly announced on Twitter it would no longer try to ban sexually explicit content. The news follows an interview with The Financial Times, where the OnlyFans’ CEO blamed the ban on issues with its banking partners. Nevertheless, the site was hit with severe backlash – from subscribers, creators, and the media alike – with many pointing out that OnlyFans used sex workers to grow powerful, and then it sold them out.
Now, OnlyFans has reversed the ban. It said it’s no longer required “due to banking partners’ assurances that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators”.
Mentioning OnlyFans elsewhere
There’s been an interesting trend regarding OnlyFans on other platforms too. In 2020 Instagram updated its Terms of Use to tighten up the rules so that Instagram users could no longer share “…links to external pornographic websites.” on its platform. The result of this was that several users found themselves banned from Instagram for encouraging their fans to also follow them on OnlyFans.
If you’re trying to market yourself on Instagram and get people to visit your OnlyFans page you’ll need to tread carefully.
At the time a Facebook spokesperson explained that:
“We want Instagram to be a safe environment for everyone, and have strict rules against nudity, sexual activity, and sexual solicitation. Under these rules, we don’t allow people to share links to porn websites on Instagram. While OnlyFans isn’t a porn website, we know it can be used in that way, so we take action on accounts that share OnlyFans links when paired with other sexually suggestive content.”
It’s not just linking either, as you’ll need to be careful with the hashtags you’re using.
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