Skip to content

Canada's Business and Tech Newsroom

  • Professional Subscription
  • Partnerships & Advertising
  • Licensing & Syndication
Log In Subscribe
Welcome,
  • My Account
  • Log Out
  • Business
  • Tech
  • National
  • The Big Read
  • Briefings
  • Commentary
Search
Log In Subscribe
Welcome,
  • My Account
  • Log Out
News

OnlyFans: When sex doesn’t sell

OnlyFans is turning off sex. On Thursday, the London-based subscription-content site confirmed a Bloomberg report that it will no longer allow sexually explicit material. Beginning Oct. 1, users will only be allowed to post nude content consistent with the website’s acceptable-use policy. The changes are necessary “to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers,” the company said. Though OnlyFans boasts over 120 million users across the globe, investors have been reluctant to jump in due to much of the content on the site. Here are the key takeaways:

News

OnlyFans: When sex doesn’t sell

By Martin Patriquin
The OnlyFans logo on a smartphone arranged in New York in June 2021. Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Aug 20, 2021
A A
A Small A Medium A Large
Share

Share

OnlyFans is turning off sex. On Thursday, the London-based subscription-content site confirmed a Bloomberg report that it will no longer allow sexually explicit material. Beginning Oct. 1, users will only be allowed to post nude content consistent with the website’s acceptable-use policy. The changes are necessary “to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers,” the company said. Though OnlyFans boasts over 120 million users across the globe, investors have been reluctant to jump in due to much of the content on the site. Here are the key takeaways:

US$1B: The valuation at which OnlyFans had hoped to raise capital. In the spring, the company enlisted the New York-based Raine Group to help bend investor ears. 

US$1.2B: The net revenue OnlyFans believed it would take in this year, and it expected to more than double that in 2022, according to a March pitch deck. Its model is relatively simple: the site hosts content producers, allowing them to paywall their output in exchange for a 20 per cent cut of their income from the site. Though it hosts yoga teachers and opera singers—along with the likes of Cardi B, DJ Khaled and Fat Joe—sex workers and adult-film actors flocked to the site, if only because it allowed them to monetize their oft-pirated content. The porn ban has infuriated them. “Sex workers made OnlyFans what it is today,” creator Zia told The Daily Beast.

75%: The estimated portion of OnlyFans owned by Leonid Radvinsky as of 2018. While Radvinsky’s wealth, estimated at US$1.8 billion, helped bankroll the company, the Florida-based pornographer has a checkered past, including businesses peddling “illegal” and “hacked” passwords to porn sites, some of which featured underage performers. The company hoped new investment would help it buy Radvinsky out, according to documents viewed by Axios.

April 14, 2021: The date on which Mastercard announced changes to its Specialty Merchant Registration requirements, meaning merchants using Mastercard services would “need to certify that [a] seller of adult content has effective controls in place to monitor, block and, where necessary, take down all illegal content.” The announcement came after Montreal-founded MindGeek faced a spate of accusations its sites were hosting illegal material, the fallout from which also affected sex workers. It’s no easy thing for a company like OnlyFans to build a payments system that doesn’t depend on major financial institutions, so Mastercard’s policies, which come into effect on Oct. 15, appear to be the impetus for OnlyFans’ sudden prudishness. As one tweeter pointed out, “The new records-keeping, review processes, verification and other requirements are going to be expensive and time-consuming. OnlyFans seems to have decided it’s not worth it.”

#OnlyFans

Loading...

Thanks for sharing!

You have shared 5 articles this month and reached the maximum amount of shares available.

Close
This account has reached its share limit.

If you would like to purchase a sharing license please contact The Logic support at [email protected].

Close
Want to share this article?

Upgrade to all-access now

Close
Gift the full article!

You have gifted 0 article(s) this month and have 5 remaining.

Copy link and gift
Copy Link
Email to a friend
Send Email
Gift on Social Media

Recipients will be able to read the full text of the article after submitting their email address. They will not have access to other articles or subscriber benefits.

Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Most Popular This Week

A head-on shot of James Neufeld seated with others at a round table in a meeting room. Eleanor Olszewski is seated to his left. There's a laptop open in front of Neufeld.
News

For this Alberta tech firm, ‘Buy Canadian’ isn’t working as advertised

By David Reevely
News

Everything you need to know about the debate over stablecoin yields

By Claire Brownell
In this photo illustration, the Manulife company logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen.
News

Manulife and Intact buck a global trend by reporting AI returns

By Anita Balakrishnan
A photo of Daniel Sax shot through a circular piece of ironwork on a stairway balustrade. He's looking off-camera, and is wearing a dark blue jacket bearing his company's logo.
The Big Read

Mining the moon. Selling nuclear reactors. For this Canadian, it’s all part of the plan

By David Reevely

In-depth, agenda-setting reporting

Great journalism delivered straight to your inbox.

Commentary

Carmichael: Canada’s wartime economic triumph can teach us something today

By Kevin Carmichael

Briefing

Nokia to spin out space communications business through Canadian SPAC deal

By David Reevely   |   Jun 19, 2026

Ontario police aren’t reporting spyware use, senior privacy official warns

By David Reevely   |   Jun 19, 2026

Magna founder Stronach found guilty of indecent and sexual assault

By Anita Balakrishnan   |   Jun 19, 2026

Best business newsletter in Canada

Get up to speed in minutes with insights and analysis on the most important stories of the day, every weekday.

Exclusive events

See the bigger picture with reporters and industry experts in subscriber-exclusive events.

Membership in The Logic Council

Membership provides access to our popular Slack channel, participation in subscriber surveys and invitations to exclusive events with our journalists and special guests.

Recent Popular Stories

News

Manulife and Intact buck a global trend by reporting AI returns

By Anita Balakrishnan   |   Jun 16, 2026
In this photo illustration, the Manulife company logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen.
Commentary: Quebec Ink

Quebec just found out what not having digital sovereignty really means

By Martin Patriquin   |   Jun 8, 2026
A yellow ambulance is pictured outside of a hospital in Montreal. A red sign in the foreground reads, “Urgence / Emergency.”
News

Canada’s surprise plan to buy Saab command jets leaves competitors seeking answers

By David Reevely   |   May 29, 2026
A closeup of a scale model of a jet covered in pixellated camouflage, with sensor equipment attached to the top of its fuselage. There are civilians and uniformed military personnel milling in the background.
The Big Read

Mining the moon. Selling nuclear reactors. For this Canadian, it’s all part of the plan

By David Reevely   |   Jun 12, 2026
A photo of Daniel Sax shot through a circular piece of ironwork on a stairway balustrade. He's looking off-camera, and is wearing a dark blue jacket bearing his company's logo.
News

Canadians could demand firms delete their personal data under new privacy bill

By Laura Osman   |   Jun 15, 2026
Evan Solomon in a suit and tie, gesturing with his left hand as he speaks, Several people sit and stand behind him looking in other directions. There's an orange curtain behind him lit from above.
The Big Read

We found every data centre in Canada

By Murad Hemmadi, David Reevely, Aleksandra Sagan, Chaimae Chouiekh, Martin Patriquin and Catherine McIntyre   |   Apr 8, 2026
Four vertical slices of aerial view photos. From left, a building in downtown Toronto housing several data centres, a picture of the Albertan wilderness where the proposed Wonder Valley data centre would go, a lit-up QScale data centre in Quebec, and a data centre at a Hydro-Quebec dam.

Canada's most influential executives and policymakers are reading The Logic

  • CPP Investments
  • Sun Life Financial
  • C100
  • Amazon
  • Telus
  • Mastercard
  • bdc
  • Shopify
  • Rogers
  • RBC
  • General Motors
  • MaRS
  • Government of Canada
  • Uber
  • Loblaw Companies Limited
logic-logo

Canada's Business and Tech Newsroom

100% human-crafted journalism

Newsroom

  • News Tips
  • AI Policy
  • Editorial Disclosures
  • Story Pitches

Company

  • About Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Statement
  • Corporate Information

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • FAQs
  • Work at The Logic

© 2026 The Logic Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Trusted by leaders

Error

Account creation failed.

Please email us at [email protected].

Create Account

[wppb-register form_name=”cozmo-registration-form-for-modal”]

I do have an account
Login
or

[wppb-login]

I don’t have an account