What is OnlyFans? What Parents Need to Know.

The first time I heard of OnlyFans, I thought it was a sports app.

Spoiler alert—it’s not. And it’s really unsafe for kids.

OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media platform primarily known for its sexually explicit content.

OnlyFans launched in 2016 as a website (and now an app) where people can pay for photos, videos, or live streams created by other users. While some OnlyFans pages are used by fitness instructors, content creators, and celebrities for other purposes, 98% of all content on OnlyFans is explicit adult content. 

Awareness is the first step to helping your children avoid the risks of OnlyFans. This article discusses the dangers of OnlyFans for minors, how kids get access to OnlyFans, and what parents can do to help.

Age Verification on OnlyFans

OnlyFans is an 18+ service. However, age verification varies depending on the state you’re in when you sign up.

Recent legislation on age verification for adult online content has required OnlyFans to crack down on account creation procedures in 19 states so far. 

In states like Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Utah, where state law requires adult websites to verify age before viewing explicit content, the process is pretty airtight. 

1. Users begin their OnlyFans app experience by creating an account with their full name, email address, and password. 
2. Right off the bat – regardless of whether the user has completed the age verification processes – there will be sexually explicit images on the home page. But if the user wants to see more, they must enter valid credit card information, verify their email, and verify their age. 
3. To verify the age of the user, the OnlyFans app requires them to submit a photo of a government-issued ID. 
4. Then, users take a selfie, and their facial data is run through OnData, an age verification software that uses AI to determine whether users are above the age of 18. 

If your information is valid, you could have the account up and running in minutes.

How Kids Access OnlyFans (and Why it’s a Problem)

Unfortunately, in states that do not require age verification for explicit website access, kids can easily browse OnlyFans after creating an account and submitting valid credit card information. 

After entering the email address and password, the small print says you “confirm you are at least 18 years old” simply by starting an account. 

Without proper verifications in place, minors easily find their way onto OnlyFans. And unfortunately, even kids who do live in states that require age verification can access OnlyFans. Downloading a VPN onto the device tricks the software into thinking users are in a different region — a relatively fast and easy experience on a smartphone or computer. 

Thankfully, becoming a creator on OnlyFans requires 9 different forms of identification across the entire OnlyFans platform, regardless of region. However, as I’ll get into later, this does not stop the devastating spread of child sexual abuse material on the platform.

Ways Kids Hide OnlyFans From Parents (and How to Catch It)

Once on the app, youth can try to hide OnlyFans from their parents. One of the most common approaches teens use is to hide apps on their smartphones.

OnlyFans’ website can also be accessed without an app from a device on any internet browser. Some internet filters and internet parental controls can be circumvented via a proxy site or a VPN.

This isn’t to suggest that protective measures are not worthwhile. Especially determined kids can find ways to get around almost anything these days, but it is still worth a parent’s time to put these protective layers into place. 

Giving a child the right tech at the right time is one of the best ways to help them learn crucial digital skills. Guardrails can prevent accidental exposure and may help slow down or deter a child from seeking out unhealthy websites.

How to Hide OnlyFans Payments

OnlyFans offers some free content, but much of the content on the platform requires payment. Kids can find ways to hide the fee every month to access content on OnlyFans from their parents.

If a child has their own debit or credit card without parental controls, caregivers may be unaware of what their kids are spending money on.

Thankfully, there are now credit or debit cards made for kids with parental controls. This adds great support for kids learning to manage money, as well as controls for parents to block companies they don’t want their child purchasing from.

Again, determined kids can still find ways around those guardrails. One way to be aware of is prepaid credit cards (often given as gifts) and used to pay for OnlyFans. The charge for the prepaid card would show up as a purchase at a grocery or convenience store, so OnlyFans never shows up on a bank statement.

As with any digital danger, the best way to keep kids safe is to have regular, candid conversations with them about the risks. If your child feels they can talk to you candidly about what they’re experiencing online, then they’re less likely to sneak around guardrails and more likely to seek your help when they do come across objectionable content online.

Watching Out for OnlyFans Activity and Expenses

• To block OnlyFans expenses on credit or debit cards, simply call your bank and tell them to flag and decline any charges from the OnlyFans vendor.

• To dispute any charges from OnlyFans on a credit card, you can go straight to OnlyFans and file a complaint. If they are hesitant to refund a charge, you can try going through your credit card company to dispute the charge.

• Apps and services like Greenlight can help you keep an eye on your child’s finances while also helping them learn financial literacy.

How Kids Get Introduced to OnlyFans

Kids are likely becoming acquainted with the idea of OnlyFans and other adult websites long before we’d like them to be. That’s why it’s vital that we jump in early to discuss those difficult topics and prepare them for things they may hear about from friends, social media, or advertisements.

Social media especially is a major perpetrator in normalizing explicit content on the internet, regardless of whether it’s searched for. Many OnlyFans creators also have accounts on platforms like Instagram or TikTok and use those accounts to share teasers to more explicit content. Conversations about pornographic content should happen before, not after, a child gets social media. 

Almost as important as the information kids have access to on their phones is the example we set for them as parents. When kids see their parents scrolling mindlessly or browsing the internet with no goal in mind, that behavior seems normal, and they are more likely to follow suit. It’s important to model healthy online behavior like using the internet only when you have a purpose in mind.

Is OnlyFans Safe for Kids?

No. OnlyFans is a very dangerous place for children and teens because of the pornography, Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), and human trafficking risks.

Kids Can Access Pornography on OnlyFans

Kids on OnlyFans can find a combination of photos, videos, and live-streaming sexual content.

For children with developing brains, pornography is especially damaging.

Pornography is a performance, but kids can confuse it with how sex works in real life. This can give them unrealistic expectations and possibly damage current or future real-life relationships. 

Furthermore, pornography hijacks the brain by increasing the neurotransmitter dopamine, causing their brain to crave pornography more.

This does not mean that a child viewing pornography is automatically addicted, but pornography can be extremely addicting, so it is a danger to be aware of. Medical professionals can support you and your child if an addiction is suspected.

Being curious about sex is developmentally normal, and parents can talk openly to their children about pornography in age-appropriate ways. These conversations can be a series of ongoing, open talks that develop appropriately as a child grows.

The best sex educators can be parents, not the internet or social media.

Child Sexual Abuse Material on OnlyFans

OnlyFans has been accused of hosting Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), more commonly known as child pornography. Although the platform claims to remove accounts featuring CSAM, investigations of the website have shown that accounts like those typically only get removed when they’re reported. It’s difficult to know whether the site is as proactive as they say when it comes to CSAM.

The Internet Watch Foundation recently saw a 77% increase in “self-generated” child sexual abuse material—any self-produced, sexually explicit images or videos of minors. 

“We don’t want to frighten people, but we do want to build resilience to the threat of self-generated sexual abuse of children.”

Susan Hargreaves, Internet Watch Foundation Chief Executive

This is more than kids sexting nude photos privately (although that has dangers of its own). In the past, lured by the prospect of making money and gaining fame, an increasing number of kids and teens joined OnlyFans to sell sexual content they produced. Some started an account for non-sexual purposes but were lured into posting explicit comments by viewers.

Nowadays, with the tighter age verification controls in place, kids will have a much harder time becoming OnlyFans creators. However, it’s not impossible to see a child-run OnlyFans account.

Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking on OnlyFans

Law enforcement investigators found sex traffickers and other criminals use OnlyFans to monetize their criminal sexual activity, and many of the victims are children whose sexual content was uploaded without their consent.

This could be an image sexted to a person who then shares it on OnlyFans to make some cash without consent, a video of a child being sexually abused that is uploaded to make money, or a teen who is being forced to post explicit content by human traffickers.

As if it couldn’t get worse, AI-generated deepfake pornography has made its way onto OnlyFans.

In fact, OnlyFans is on the “Dirty Dozen” list of the most dangerous sites according to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

Minors creating OnlyFan accounts have public comments on posts and DMs. This opens up risks of being lured by predators online and sexually exploited.

Tragically, sexual abuse today can happen without ever being physically present with your abuser.

If a child posts a sexual image on OnlyFans, others can use that content to sexually blackmail (aka sextort) them, using threats to demand money or more sexual content. A growing number of sextortion victims are dying by suicide.

What Parents Can Do

This is a heavy topic. It can feel discouraging to discover what kids today are up against. But as a parent myself, I would rather face the discomfort of knowing than leave my kids to face this alone.

Talk to your kids often, even when you don’t think they are listening.

How to Talk to Kids About OnlyFans

A great starting point is asking what they know about a topic. This helps you access their current knowledge, correct any errors in what they have heard, and build an ongoing conversation from there.

You may also want to preface by acknowledging that this can be a difficult topic to talk about and that it may feel a little awkward. Then, clearly explain what OnlyFans is, and what it’s used for. Warn them that they may see advertisements online for it, and what to do when they encounter it. 

Depending on your child’s maturity, you may also consider talking about how OnlyFans can create unrealistic body expectations, how it can lead to unhealthy behavior around pornography, and how it can even be used as a platform to exploit individuals for money. 

Emphasize that you have confidence in your child, and make sure that they know that you believe in their ability to click away when they see inappropriate material online. Assure them that if they make a mistake online, you will always love them, and they can come to you for shame-free help. 

Teaching Kids Media Literacy Step-By-Step

You can also give your kids a better chance of avoiding digital dangers by using protective tools such as kids-safe phones, internet filters, and parental controls on everything from computers to video games. This helps kids become armed with technological tools to protect them without giving them access to all of the harmful stuff, too. 
By reading this article, you are already on the best path. Awareness is powerful, and you are not alone.

These conversations are hard, so take it easy on yourself and your kids. Try talking about OnlyFans today, and let us know how it goes. Be sure to subscribe to Gabb Now for more actionable tips.