OnlyFans launches a new app with no nudity and no paywall
OnlyFans is releasing an app with no nudity.
In the past, because OnlyFans hosts adult content, it couldn’t launch an app on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Now the company has pivoted to safe-for-work material from OnlyFans creators on a new app on iOS and Android called OFTV.
The app was in development back in January, according to Bloomberg, and was originally only available to OnlyFans creators and subscribers. But now OnlyFans is promoting OFTV to a wider audience. It boasts over 800 videos from more than 100 creators, an OnlyFans spokesperson told Mashable over email.
App users can find videos about anything from vlogs to cooking to meditation.
“From the onset of launching OnlyFans, we have been a creator-first platform to give creators further autonomy and power over their content,” Tim Stokely, OnlyFans founder and CEO, told Mashable over email. “We’re all about giving creators more opportunities to get their content out there and more ways for our community to access it.”
There’s also a flagship series on the app called Unlocked, which features exclusive interviews with OnlyFans creators like Mia Khalifa and Bella Thorne. The first season was all about individual creators' journeys to success, and the second season will include “mini-adventures,” according to an OnlyFans spokesperson.
“Viewers ride along with our host as we get a behind the scenes glimpse into each creator’s daily lives and get to know them on a personal level, while also bringing them on an adventure that’s totally new and unexpected, capturing their hilarious reactions and spontaneous moments along the way,” the spokesperson said.
OnlyFans has more than 1 million creators who generate $2 billion in annual sales. OnlyFans takes a 20 percent cut, according to The Verge, and makes about $400 million annually. A spokesperson told Mashable that they don’t plan to match that model with OFTV, and won’t be charging for access to the app.
This is just the most recent step in OnlyFans' long road away from nudity and toward something more SFW. While the platform is famous for lewd content, there are also fitness instructors, dancers, and artists who use the platform to post content, connect with fans, and get paid. The platform has been working to attract investors and make more money in the SFW scene, creating a kind of YouTube-Cameo hybrid, a place for celebrities and athletes to connect with fans, according to Bloomberg.
OFTV will certainly help in the companies fight to become more mainstream, but it's unclear if OnlyFans will ever be able to overcome its raunchy reputation.
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Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
