Why has Google Shadow Banned OnlyFans?

Google has removed nearly all links to individual OnlyFans profile pages from its search results, a development that could significantly impact the livelihoods of content creators and reshape the visibility of adult content online.

Until recently, users searching for creators such as Adriana Chechik or Riley Reid using phrases like “OnlyFans” alongside their names would have seen direct links to those creators' profiles appear prominently on Google. That is no longer the case. Even with “Safe Search” disabled, Google returns no direct links to OnlyFans profile pages, a sharp contrast to search engines like Bing, where such results still appear at the top.

The shift appears to have taken effect earlier this year (in February). Traffic data shows a sharp decline in organic search visits to OnlyFans, dropping from approximately 40 million to 21 million monthly visits—a 50% decrease. But the full-on removal of profile-level results from Google Search is new and reflects a significant change in how the platform is indexed.

While the main website, OnlyFans.com, remains accessible through Google, creator profiles have become effectively invisible on the platform’s dominant search engine. Some exceptions exist, such as media pages for celebrities like Denise Richards and Sophie Rain, but these are rare.

The implications are wide-reaching. OnlyFans has long relied on search engine visibility to help creators reach new audiences. Without those search results, creators may struggle to grow their subscriber bases, while alternative and often unauthorized leak or piracy sites may benefit from the resulting visibility vacuum.

Google, which processes an estimated 8.5 billion searches per day and holds more than 90% of global market share in search, has not issued a formal statement explaining the change. The lack of clarity has prompted speculation about whether this is a deliberate shadow ban, a new indexing policy, or a technical change.

Under its Webmaster Guidelines, Google lists several reasons a site might be deindexed, including cloaking, keyword stuffing, link schemes, thin content, or hosting malware. However, these issues typically affect specific domains or pages that violate specific rules, not entire classes of profile pages across an entire platform.

Importantly, other adult content sites have not experienced similar removals. Furthermore, Google’s own guidelines emphasize that adult content is not inherently penalized in search, provided it complies with their policies.

You can find Pornhub profiles on Google but not OnlyFans.

If you are to Google Mia Malkova OnlyFans, you'll find her Pornhub profile and below that, a site that links to her stolen videos from OnlyFans.

This is not the first time OnlyFans has faced challenges related to content distribution. In the past, the platform's app was barred from Google and Apple’s stores due to policies against pornography. However, those restrictions did not extend to web search access—until now.

Advocates for online creators warn that the lack of transparency and potential bias in moderation policies could disproportionately affect independent adult workers, many of whom rely on OnlyFans as a primary source of income. The disappearance of searchable links could also open the door to copyright infringement and content theft, as official pages become harder to find than pirated content and OnlyFans leaks sites.

A request for comment sent to Google has not yet received a response. OnlyFans has also not issued a public statement regarding the change.

As of now, creators and observers alike are left with questions. Is this a deliberate policy change by Google? A technical issue? Or part of a broader shift in how adult content is treated online?

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.