Like many people, Courtney Kocak started an OnlyFans channel during the pandemic. It was a way to earn a living while isolated at home, and as a woman who had endured misogyny her entire life, it was personally liberating. That liberation was short-lived. A Google alert informed her that her name was linked to an image leak, revealing that a paid subscriber had stolen her content and was sharing it online for free.
When your income depends on subscribers paying for exclusive access to your content, someone pirating your hard work and distributing it freely online is a significant blow to your bottom line. While OnlyFans works hard to ensure the privacy and security of the creators who generate its revenue, the persistence of leaks shows that changes are urgently needed.
Although official statistics are unavailable, estimates suggest that 50% to 70% of paid OnlyFans content has been leaked online. That’s a staggering amount of explicit material meant to stay behind a paywall, now circulating in the shadowy corners of the internet. For creators who rely on the exclusivity of their OnlyFans persona, this is more than a financial violation—it’s a reputational threat.
While we respect sex workers in this house, that’s not the reality everywhere. Women especially face heightened scrutiny for participating in platforms like OnlyFans, and many creators have alternate jobs they wish to keep separate. Over the past two years, multiple teachers have been fired because someone discovered that OnlyFans supplemented their income. Leaks can also impact social standing—imagine the fallout if “Kim from book club” has her topless live chat from three months ago shared publicly without her consent.
The risks go even deeper. For creators counting on OnlyFans to protect their content—and their identity—leaks can escalate to dangerous levels. The internet never forgets, and leaked intimate images are often tied to doxxing, blackmail, and stalking, which can lead to real-world harm. For some, these breaches have had deadly consequences.
To its credit, OnlyFans isn’t ignoring the problem. The platform has implemented measures to safeguard its creators, such as watermarking images, blocking screenshots, disabling downloads, scanning for stolen material, and maintaining a legal team to handle takedown requests. These efforts are commendable but insufficient. Leaked content frequently ends up on platforms like Discord and Telegram, where tracking and removal become nearly impossible.
Stronger protections are urgently needed. One potential solution? Leverage AI. With artificial intelligence already integrated into countless industries, why not use it to track stolen content or give creators more control over their material? Additionally, legal systems need to provide more robust recourse to deter theft. Current laws fail to adequately protect creators, and when action is taken, the wheels of justice grind painfully slowly.
Perhaps the most critical change lies in shifting societal attitudes. Sex work remains stigmatized, with many dismissing it as immoral or unworthy of protection. When leaked explicit content prompts responses like, “Well, what was she wearing?” the system often fails to act. This cultural bias diminishes the urgency of addressing these crimes and leaves creators vulnerable.
OnlyFans content creators deserve the same rights and protections as any other digital worker. Period. It’s time for platforms, governments, and tech leaders to collaborate on lasting solutions that ensure the safety of digital sex workers, just as they would for professionals in other industries.
In the meantime, let’s keep it simple: stop stealing content from OnlyFans. Just stop.
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