History of OnlyFans in Timeline

OnlyFans is a London-based internet content subscription service. While it hosts a variety of content creators, it's predominantly recognized for its popularity among sex workers who produce pornography. The platform also includes athletes, musicians, and comedians, offering a diverse range of content behind a paywall. Its subscription model allows creators to directly monetize their content from fans.

November 2016: OnlyFans founded

In November 2016, Tim Stokely founded OnlyFans as a platform to allow performers to directly monetize their content.

2017: Ban lift on porn

By 2017, OnlyFans lifted its ban on porn, which it had initially banned on its platform.

December 2019: Child abuse videos

Between December 2019 and June 2024, Reuters documented 30 complaints from court and police records involving more than 200 explicit videos and images of children, including some adults having oral sex with toddlers.

2019: Metro Bank withdraws support

In 2019, Metro Bank withdrew support from OnlyFans abruptly.

January 2020: Charity Donation Trend

In January 2020, a trend emerged on OnlyFans where creators offered free access to sexual content in exchange for proof of charity donations. This began with Kaylen Ward raising US$1 million for Australian wild bushfire relief.

February 2020: Hacked content

In February 2020, BuzzFeed News reported that up to four terabytes of hacked OnlyFans content went viral on social media.

April 2020: "Savage" Remix mention

In April 2020, the site grew rapidly after it was mentioned by Beyoncé in the remix of the Megan Thee Stallion song, "Savage". Traffic increased by 15% and OnlyFans was seeing approximately 200,000 new users and 6,000–8,000 new creators register daily.

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July 2020: Value-added tax

In July 2020, OnlyFans began charging value-added tax after discussions with HM Revenue and Customs.

August 2020: Bella Thorne's Earnings Record and Controversy

In August 2020, Bella Thorne broke OnlyFans earnings records by generating US$2 million in a week, including US$1 million in 24 hours. Thorne promised nude photos to subscribers, but instead provided lingerie photos, leading to chargebacks and policy changes.

August 2020: Account deletions

In August 2020, Forensic News reported that some content creators' accounts had been deleted without warning, leaving them unable to withdraw their balances. Radvinsky's previous business ventures were flagged by banks for indicators of money laundering.

November 2020: Fansly begins operations

In November 2020, Fansly, a website with design and functionality regarded as "nearly identical" to OnlyFans, began operations.

December 2020: User base exceeds 85 million

By December 2020, OnlyFans had 85 million users and more than 1 million creators, generating more than US$2 billion in sales that year.

2020: BBC Three documentary alleges Twitter nudes4sale profiles belong to underage individuals

In 2020, a BBC Three documentary alleged that a third of Twitter profiles globally advertising 'nudes4sale' belong to underage individuals, many of whom used OnlyFans to share their content.

2020: COVID-19 pandemic increases growth

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated OnlyFans' growth, with the user and creator base growing by 75% between March and April.

2020: Amouranth joins OnlyFans

In early 2020, the Twitch streamer Amouranth joined OnlyFans.

March 2021: User statistics

By March 2021, OnlyFans' user base topped 120 million and creators collectively earned $3 billion in revenue. OnlyFans stated that it pays out more than $200 million a month to creators.

March 2021: Creative Fund Launch

In March 2021, OnlyFans launched its creative fund, providing £20,000 grants to four emerging musicians in the United Kingdom, selected by Stokely and Stefflon Don.

April 2021: Bhad Bhabie Breaks Earnings Record

In April 2021, Bhad Bhabie broke Bella Thorne's OnlyFans earnings record by garnering US$1 million in six hours. This achievement led to social media criticism of her subscribers.

April 2021: Time 100 Most Influential Companies

In April 2021, Time named OnlyFans in its Time 100 Most Influential Companies list.

May 2021: BBC reports OnlyFans failing to prevent underage users

In May 2021, the BBC reported that OnlyFans was "failing to prevent underage users from selling and appearing in explicit videos" following an investigation that included reports from UK Police, schools and Childline.

July 2021: Limited information passed to NCMEC

In July 2021, OnlyFans only passed one hash and details of 14 accounts, out of the 15 suspended for CSAM, onto the NCMEC.

August 2021: Transparency report released

In August 2021, OnlyFans released its first transparency report regarding the company's safety compliance program.

August 2021: US Congress Investigation and change in Content Policy

In August 2021, a campaign began in the United States Congress to investigate OnlyFans, leading to a planned ban on sexually explicit material due to pressure from banks.

August 2021: Call for investigation by US Representative

On 10 August 2021, US Representative Ann Wagner announced a bipartisan coalition pressuring the Department of Justice to investigate OnlyFans for child exploitation. Over 100 members of Congress signed the petition.

August 2021: Announcement of Policy Change

On 19 August 2021, following increased campaigning against OnlyFans, the company announced that from 1 October 2021 onwards it would not be allowing sexually explicit content, the company would still have allowed nudity on some grounds.

October 2021: Planned ban on sexually explicit content

In October 2021, OnlyFans had plans to ban sexually explicit content, but the company still would've allowed nudity on some grounds.

October 2021: Sexually explicit content ban and reversal

In October 2021, OnlyFans initially planned to ban sexually explicit material but reversed this decision six days later due to user backlash.

December 2021: Tim Stokely steps down as CEO

In December 2021, Tim Stokely stepped down as CEO of OnlyFans, and Amrapali Gan took over the position.

2021: BBC News report

In 2021, BBC News reported that it was able to circumvent the OnlyFans system and OnlyFans was criticised by UK police for not doing enough to protect children.

2021: Company Statistics

In 2021, OnlyFans had revenues of US$932 million, with 80% of its approximately 1,000 employees focusing on content moderation and support.

2021: OFTV launch

In 2021, OnlyFans launched OFTV, a free, safe-for-work streaming platform.

2021: Revenue increase

In 2021, OnlyFans' revenue was around $900 million, a rise from $350 million in the previous year, with the company reaching a market valuation of $1 billion.

April 2022: OnlyFans temporarily pauses Russian creators' accounts

On 21 April 2022, OnlyFans "temporarily paused" Russian creators' accounts due to economic sanctions following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

May 2022: Carmen Electra Joins OnlyFans and Alexandra Hunt's Campaign

In May 2022, Carmen Electra joined OnlyFans, debuting with photos from her 50th birthday. Also in May 2022, Pennsylvania congressional candidate Alexandra Hunt joined the platform and announced her campaign had raised around $100,000 in one month.

August 2022: Lawsuits filed against OnlyFans

In August 2022, lawsuits were filed in the US alleging that OnlyFans bribed Meta employees to add Instagram accounts of OnlyFans creators to a terrorist blacklist.

September 2022: Amouranth's Earnings

In September 2022, Twitch streamer Amouranth revealed to Insider that she was earning $1.5 million monthly on OnlyFans and had grossed over $33 million since joining in early 2020.

December 9, 2022: Markiplier Joins OnlyFans and Site Crash

On December 9, 2022, YouTuber Markiplier launched an OnlyFans account, and the influx of traffic caused the site to crash.

2022: Dividends to owner

From 2021 to 2022, Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of OnlyFans, received $500 million in dividends.

2022: Ofcom praises OnlyFans

In 2022, Ofcom praised OnlyFans for its use of third-party verification tools.

2022: Donation to Child Rescue Coalition

In 2022, OnlyFans gave $500,000 to the Child Rescue Coalition for a project intended to investigate adult online behavior that is sexually threatening to children.

2022: Model Farmers Release and Deals with Celebrities

In 2022, OnlyFans' OFTV released 'Model Farmers,' a reality television show hosted by Becky Houze. Also in 2022, OnlyFans signed deals with the Sims family from 'The Only Way is Essex' and Whitney Cummings to star in shows for OFTV.

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2022: Financial Times fastest-growing companies list

In 2022, the Financial Times named OnlyFans one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe.

May 2023: OnlyFans statistics

As of May 2023, OnlyFans had over three million registered creators and 220 million registered users.

May 2023: User statistics and study published

As of May 2023, OnlyFans reported having 3 million registered creators and 220 million registered consumers. Also in 2023, a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that "OnlyFans users were predominantly white, married, males who identified as heterosexual, bisexual, or pansexual."

July 2023: Keily Blair appointed CEO

In July 2023, Keily Blair was appointed the CEO of OnlyFans.

July 2023: Plaintiffs withdrew the bribery claim

In July 2023, plaintiffs withdrew the bribery claim against OnlyFans.

August 2023: The case was dismissed

In August 2023, the case against OnlyFans was dismissed because the court did not have jurisdiction over OnlyFans, which is based in the UK.

November 2023: Revenue

In the year up to 30 November 2023, OnlyFans posted revenues of $1.3 billion, an increase of 20% over the previous year.

2023: Partnership with StopNCII.org

In 2023, OnlyFans partnered with StopNCII.org, an online tool that uses a hash function system to prevent the spread of revenge porn and other non-consensual image sharing.

2023: OFTV show releases with Sims family and Whitney Cummings

In 2023, OnlyFans was set to release shows for OFTV starring the Sims family from 'The Only Way is Essex' and Whitney Cummings, following deals signed in 2022. Cummings also started an account on OnlyFans' main site.

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2023: Creative Fund: Fashion Edition Comedy Edition Airing

In 2023, OnlyFans' OFTV program, Creative Fund: Fashion Edition, planned to air a four-part Comedy Edition in the U.K. and Ireland, judged by London Hughes, Jamali Maddix and Mae Martin, hosted by Jack Guinness and featured Sofie Hagen. The prize fund was similar to previous editions.

2023: Financial Times fastest-growing companies list

In 2023, the Financial Times named OnlyFans one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe.

June 2024: Child abuse videos

September 2024: Meta interference claim fails

In September 2024, Judge William A. Alsup ruled that the performers failed to show that Meta had interfered with their contracts or violated unfair competition law.

2024: Corporation tax

In 2023, OnlyFans paid $150m in UK corporation tax.

2024: Chatter controversies

In 2024, investigative articles revealed that many creators relied on chatters and chatbots to impersonate them in messages with their subscribers, leading to U.S. federal class-action lawsuits against OnlyFans.