OnlyFans changed its payment policy today, limiting the amount creators can charge for exclusive content to $50 and the amount creators can be tipped to $100.- Some creators, including
sex workers , wrote online that they believe the new limitations are related to Bella Thorne joining the site last week. - Thorne, 22, made $2 million in less than a week after joining OnlyFans and then advertised exclusive content for an additional $200.
- OnlyFans told Insider there is no connection between Thorne joining the site and the policy changes.
Days after
The platform, which has become a lifeline for sex workers and strippers unable to do in-person work during the pandemic, has garnered cult status and celebrity users this year.
On Tuesday, OnlyFans confirmed that 22-year-old Thorne, who joined the site August 19, had earned $2 million in one week from people paying to see her photos, half of which was earned in one day.
Today, creators worldwide were informed that their fans could no longer give limitless tips. The site also imposed a limit on how much people can charge for exclusive content: now $50 when before there was no limit.
Many OnlyFans creators, including sex workers, took to Twitter to voice their concerns with the platform's new payment policies. Many asked whether Thorne's controversial addition to the site had anything to do with the changes, but OnlyFans told Insider there is no connection.
—Rebecca Madison (@RebeccaMadison_) August 28, 2020
How OnlyFans payment works
On OnlyFans, users subscribe to creators for a fee they pay each month that gets them access to photos, videos, and live-streams from the creator.
In addition, creators can sell "exclusive" content to subscribers for an additional fee, called pay per view (PPV). Prior to the new limitations, there were no limits on how much a creator could charge for PPV.
Controversy over Bella Thorne's $200 photo on OnlyFans
When Bella Thorne joined the platform, she advertised to sell users a pay per view exclusive photo for $200.
About 50,000 users subscribed for $16.99 to her OnlyFans page and paid the additional PPV fee.
Some users tweeted that they were disappointed to find that the PPV photo was not, in fact, a nude, which is unusual for the erotic content site. Thorne later clarified there would be no nudity on her page.
—Kira Noir Inc. (@thekiranoir) August 28, 2020
— Princess Hadley (@misshadleykat) August 28, 2020
The change was announced to creators this morning.
OnlyFans released a statement to Insider confirming the changes. The firm said it had nothing to do with Thorne.
"Transaction limits are set to help prevent overspending and to allow our users to continue to use the site safely," the statement read. "We value all of the feedback received since this change was implemented and we will continue to review these limits. Our objective remains to provide the best platform possible for the OnlyFans community. We can confirm that any changes to transaction limits are not based on any one user."
Sex workers built OnlyFans, but say the new limitations could harm the community
While OnlyFans isn't just a platform for adult content, it became popularized as a modern hub for sex workers, hustling to earn money through a pandemic and a recession.
The pandemic has made it near-impossible for many sex workers to meet clients in person, making OnlyFans one of the safest forms of income.
Bella, a 26-year-old OnlyFans creator and full-service sex worker who makes an average of $7,000 a month on the site, told Insider she's concerned the new limitations on OnlyFans are just the beginning of the platform's push to remove sex workers from it.
"The entire
Bella Thorne did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read More:
Bella Thorne and 11 other celebrities who have made OnlyFans pages