OnlyFans Viewer Tools and Their Threat to Content Creators

Cyber-Peepers Freeload and Download with Paywall Workarounds

In 1984, Stewart Brand, who famously founded the Whole Earth Catalog in the late 1960s, uttered his most memorable and most misquoted words to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak during a Hackers Conference. “Information wants to be free.” Within a porn context, those who seek to view or download content without paying for it may share this justification, especially if it lets them peep at the talent on OnlyFans.

As The Digital Weekly explains, OnlyFans is only becoming more popular, which means that people who can’t or won’t pay for content are on the lookout for tools that will give them access. These workarounds bypass the OnlyFans paywall, which allows cheaters to view and download content without paying for it. The software applications and browser extensions being used to do this are called scrapers or downloaders.

It's true that lower-income admirers of OnlyFans models, sexy content in general, and hacking sites for the sake of hacking embrace the scrapers, claiming that it evens the financial field. It’s also true that the people who suffer from this sly theft are the sex workers whose income depends upon paid memberships and tips in exchange for their exclusive content. If those who use scrapers think they’re getting one over The Man by not paying for their porn, the reality is that they harm the very people whose work they claim to desire.

Since 2016, OnlyFans has provided a social media site where content creators can offer an assortment of benefits to their subscribers and control the price of their subscription fees. They can sell merchandise, appear in pay-per-view performances, and more. For some, this results in a steady, lucrative income, and for others, it pays the bills and lessens concerns about the future. The platform is so popular now that mainstream celebrities, including former Disney actors, and social media influencers have signed on as performers.

While the initial loss of income is a real threat because of viewer tools, it’s not the only reason for content creators to be nervous. The content available on OnlyFans is unique and exclusive, made specifically for the OnlyFans audience. Not only are users of these downloaders unlikely to ever subscribe, but there’s also nothing to stop them from distributing what they download. This means copyright infringement and a loss of control of where the content appears and who is looking at it. Once this happens, there’s no way to shield those not legally able to view explicit content and no way to control its sale.

By refusing to enter OnlyFans through appropriate means, the unfortunate message to performers is that their work has no value and their need to make a living is unimportant. After all, it’s just porn, right? Porn or not, watching or downloading content without permission is likely to be an illegal violation of copyright laws. Because of this, platforms like OnlyFans would be wise to beef up their protections against this exploitation by adding watermarks or implementing digital rights management (DMR) technologies.

The legality of viewer tools is uncertain, and their developers are creative and determined, so it’s uncertain how well bulking up on security would protect content creators and their work. While OnlyFans and others like it wait for the legal world to catch up with internet technology, In the meantime, collaboration between content creators and the platform, to work together to protect their rights and make sure they’re paid for the erotic products they’ve created.

Chances are excellent that viewing tools are not going away. To quote Benjamin Franklin, one of the horniest of the Founding Fathers, “We must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately.”