Who's really messaging you on OnlyFans?
Porn-driven website OnlyFans promises "authentic relationships" between content creators and followers – via direct chat. But who is really sending those messages?
Transcript
00:00Porn-driven website OnlyFans promises authentic relationships
00:04between content creators and followers via direct chat.
00:07But who is really sending those messages?
00:10Are users intentionally deceived to fall in love with a porn star?
00:14A 42-year-old German man told his story to news agency Reuters.
00:18He started chatting with Hungarian OnlyFans creator Niki in early 2022.
00:23I respond to every single message personally, said the bio on her account.
00:27He messaged her about everything, from sexual fantasies
00:31to their shared obsession with cats.
00:33He fell in love with her in the process.
00:35Niki texted, she felt the same.
00:37This romance turned out to be quite expensive.
00:40The man spent nearly 7,000 euros for what he thought was a real love affair.
00:45Apart from paying for personal sex videos,
00:48he also sent Niki money for medicine and car repairs.
00:51He even gave her a monthly allowance of 200 euros for a while.
00:55Unfortunately, there wasn't just one Niki.
00:58The content creator of that name had employed so-called chatters,
01:02people that message her fans on her behalf,
01:04even though her bio said otherwise.
01:06Cases like this are not an exception.
01:09They can happen to users in the many different countries
01:12where the platform is available.
01:13Is OnlyFans supporting a fraudulent system?
01:17Well, OnlyFans has become a very lucrative enterprise.
01:21The more than 200 million registered users, 87% of the male,
01:25spend billions of euros on the platform.
01:28For content creators, it's not a get-rich-quick scheme, though.
01:32The top 10% of creators earn 73% of the overall income.
01:36It's a very competitive market,
01:38so there are already many professionals cashing in.
01:41For example, agencies that support content creators
01:44and get a share of their income in return.
01:46An average monthly subscription to an OnlyFans account
01:49costs about 7 euros.
01:51Not very much.
01:52The big money is made via exclusive material
01:55and other services that users pay for via OnlyFans' tipping function.
01:59So to keep subscribers happy and willing to spend,
02:03agencies, or sometimes the creators themselves,
02:05hire chatters that text for them.
02:08And because a lot of the conversation is erotic or pornographic,
02:11they need, let's say, specialised chatters.
02:14Who are they?
02:16According to a Reuters report, most of them live in the Philippines.
02:20The country has a booming call centre industry
02:23and a cheap workforce that is experienced in remote customer services.
02:27As OnlyFans chatters men and women alike,
02:29these workers handle several chats at the same time,
02:32often simply by copy-pasting phrases between the chats.
02:36And there are even manuals for specific client wishes,
02:39often dubbed JOIs, jerk-off instructions.
02:42These scripts help keep clients engaged.
02:44They tell chatters how to convincingly describe sex in a car
02:48or how to verbally satisfy an older man or woman.
02:51But human chatters might soon be a thing of the past.
02:55Some agencies that manage OnlyFans performers
02:57already use AI software to sex with subscribers.
03:01To sum it up, there's a whole industry in place
03:04to systematically fleece users on OnlyFans.
03:07But is OnlyFans to blame for that?
03:10Several court cases are already dealing with this question.
03:13So far, OnlyFans and affiliated enterprises
03:16are denying any responsibility.
03:18Their argument?
03:20A platform cannot be held responsible for what the users do.
03:23Which might sound convincing.
03:25So far, there's no evidence OnlyFans is actively involved
03:28in the chatter industry.
03:30On the other hand, they profit from it a great deal.
03:33The platform takes 20% of every creator's income.
03:36That includes subscription fees, but also payment via tipping.
03:39So, the chatters in the Philippines do increase OnlyFans revenue.
03:44And they might silently accept
03:45the systematic exploitation of lonely people.
03:49What's your opinion?
03:50Is legal action necessary to regulate these structures?
03:53Or can men who fall in love with a porn star via chat
03:56not be helped anyway?
03:57Let us know.