Etsy to ban sale of most sex toys, explicit content, and more

Online retailer Etsy will prohibit sales of most sex toys, content that depicts sex acts and genitalia, and more starting July 29.

The indie seller published its Adult Nudity and Sexual Content policy yesterday, which states that sales of adult toys that are insertable, "applied to the genitalia," or "designed for genitals to be inserted into them" will be prohibited. That pretty much runs the gamut — dildos, vibrators, rings, plugs, and the like will be banned.

"Non-insertable and non-penetrable adult toys and sexual accessories," such as BDSM wear, will be allowed as long as listings follow Etsy's guidelines around mature content, also updated yesterday. These listings must be tagged as "mature"; can't appear on public places of someone's account like a user's avatar or shop home; the first thumbnail must be "appropriate for general audiences"; and depictions of genitalia or products in use must be removed or censored.

On that last point, porn isn't allowed on Etsy, including custom content. This is defined as media displaying explicit acts; made by porn publishers like Playboy (that includes vintage items); and described as pornographic in titles, descriptions, tags, or images. Photos and photo-realistic pictures of explicit acts and of genitalia or anuses also aren't allowed. Photos and photo-realistic depictions of butts and nipples are OK "so long as these body parts are obscured in the first listing," as laid out in the mature content policy.

As for non-realistic content — like drawings — total nudity and sex acts "without visible genitalia or anuses" are allowed, but non-realistic images of explicit acts aren't.

Etsy is also banning nudity for human models, including "gluteal clefts and female nipples/areolas." If you're selling a sexy item of clothing, for example, you must censor body parts, use a mannequin, or opt for just photographing the clothing.

Additionally, Etsy prohibits the sale and advertising of sexual services and "fetishized items" like worn underwear and feet pics. Depictions of illegal acts are also prohibited, like non-consensual sex and incest.

"Sexual language" concerning incest or "referencing familial relationships" will also be banned now. The examples Etsy lists are "Daddy's slut" and "Choke me Mommy." As of publication, these terms are still searchable on Etsy, and so is nude content. Searches for "porn" come up blank.

"Etsy has long had policies prohibiting certain mature content and providing guidance on appropriately listing adult items. Today, we are building on this foundation, updating our standards, and introducing more rigorous guidelines," Etsy VP of trust and safety, Alice Wu Paulus, wrote on the site's forum in a post called "Strengthening Our Approach to Mature Content on Etsy."

Wu Paulus went on to say that Etsy will begin enforcing these changes on July 29 and will remove non-compliant listings. Etsy will apparently also communicate with sellers who may need to update their listings in the upcoming weeks. The VP ends the post by stating that these efforts are to "keep Etsy and [its] community safe."

This move is an addition to the continued crackdown on online sexual content — and the people who post and sell it — that's reached a crescendo in recent years. Such content is banned from most major social media platforms (except X), for example, while credit card companies and finance apps often ban people in sex industries. Legislatively, more and more states are enacting age-verification laws around adult content (that likely don't work).

Etsy declined to comment beyond Wu Paulus's post.

UPDATE: Jun. 28, 2024, 3:44 p.m. EDT Mashable updated this article to add a response from Etsy.