(Watch a story from May about an OnlyFans creator in the video player above.)
CLEVELAND (WJW) – OnlyFans plans to ban pornography starting Oct. 1, Bloomberg first reported on Thursday.
The content sharing website, which gained popularity during the pandemic, is used by sex workers to sell explicit vides and photos. While it’s well known for its nude content, OnlyFans is also used by personal stylists, photographers and musicians.
OnlyFans users will still be able to post nude videos and photos as long as they are consistent with the site’s policy. More details on what that entails were not released.
“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,” OnlyFans said in a statement.
According to several reports, OnlyFans also has a financial motive for the content restriction. The company told Variety in a statement that they were making the change “to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout partners.”
Nexstar’s WJW spoke to a local OnlyFans content creator earlier this year. The 25-year-old woman, who posts weekly photos of herself nude or in lingerie, said it started as a way to help her family financially during the pandemic.
“My husband and I actually worked at the same restaurant and we both lost our jobs,” she said.
OnlyFans was started in 2016 and now boasts more than 130 million users.