Tech
What is OnlyFans?
The creator platform OnlyFans has changed the adult industry since its inception a decade ago. What started as a tip jar for bloggers has become an extreme moneymaker for some porn performers, making six figures a year or even in a single month. But do you have to post sexually explicit work on OnlyFans? Are you required to message back and forth with strangers? Can you actually make money on the platform? What is OnlyFans, anyway?
We're here to answer your questions.
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans was started in 2016 by British entrepreneur Tim Stokely. Its main goal is to help content creators and artists "monetize their content while developing authentic relationships with their fanbase." This basically means the platform was created to let users post content behind a paywall, which fans have to subscribe to for access. Fans can also pay more to message back and forth with creators and "tip" to get content created on demand that's specifically tailored to their interests and tastes.
If you look back at OnlyFans promotional materials from 2016, you'll notice that it was geared towards "safe for work" creators, like bloggers and YouTubers. This changed in 2018, when the majority of its parent company, Fenix International Limited, was sold to Ukrainian-American entrepreneur Leonid Radvinsky. Radvinsky, who died in March 2026 at the age of 43, previously founded the porn site MyFreeCams. OnlyFans pivoted to porn after 2018 (despite any type of creator still allowed on the platform), and it exploded in usage and name recognition during the COVID lockdowns.
While creators don't have to post explicit content on the platform (and in fact, Mashable interviewed a creator who makes six figures from OnlyFans without nudity), it's what the platform is known for at this point. In 2021, OnlyFans announced it would ban explicit content, only to reverse the decision days later due to backlash.
How much money can creators make on it?
It depends on the kind of content you're producing, how much reach you have, and a whole host of other variables, but creators can make anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month to a few thousand. In 2023, the average OnlyFans creator made just $1,300 a year from the platform, but Mashable has interviewed creators who've made millions from it. Last year, current OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair shared that the platform paid out $25 billion to creators since 2016.
But if you think OnlyFans is "easy money," think again. Last year, Mashable interviewed different creators about the work that goes into building a successful OnlyFans, including investing in camera equipment, hiring help, and marketing yourself.
How do you subscribe to creators?
You don't have to be a creator to use the platform — in fact, it's fueled by users who don't post on the platform. In order to subscribe to creators, you simply have to create an OnlyFans account, go to the Home page, and find someone you're interested in following. Check out their subscription tiers, and decide what kind of bundle or offer you're interested in paying for. You can also tip a creator any amount you want, or pay for messages and individualized content with pay-per-view messages that range anywhere from a couple dollars to more than $100, depending on the creator.
And if you have a friend who's started posting on OnlyFans and you want to support them, there are ways to do that, too, from subscribing to their pages to offering emotional support.
This article was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2026.
Wouldn't it be nice if all of the shows and movies you loved were on the same streaming service? If you're a Prime member, it's possible to make that happen — and for less money than keeping them all separate. Amazon just added the Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus streaming bundle to the already extensive lineup of Prime Video add-ons.
The Apple TV and Peacock bundle debuted back in October 2025, but this is the first time you can bundle the services through your Prime Video account. The ad-free subscription bundle costs just $19.99 per month, which is over 30% or $10 cheaper than paying for Apple TV and Peacock individually. Peacock Premium Plus typically costs $16.99 per month on its own, while Apple TV now costs $12.99 per month after its latest price hike.
"This bundle makes it easier for customers to seamlessly access even more entertainment options all in one place. By expanding the streaming services and bundles available on Prime Video, we’re continuing to deliver on our commitment to provide customers with greater choice and seamless access to the shows, movies and sports they love," Ryan Pirozzi, head of Prime Video Channels, U.S. says in a press release.
The benefit of subscribing to the Apple TV and Peacock bundle through your Prime Video account is that you can access all three streaming libraries in a single app. Not to mention, you won't have to manage multiple subscriptions or payment methods. Amazon Prime is essentially recreating cable one add-on at a time.
Here's just a taste of all you can watch through the Apple TV and Peacock bundle on Prime Video:
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Apple Originals like Pluribus, Severance, and The Studio
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Beloved NBC series like Law & Order and One Chicago
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Bravo hits like The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Summer House
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Peacock Originals like The Traitors and Ponies
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Premier League soccer, NFL Sunday Night Football, NBA, Major League Baseball, and more live on Peacock
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Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV
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Blockbuster Universal movies and fan-favorite franchises on Peacock
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PRE-ORDER NOW: As of April 15, pre-order the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD, Amazon's newest and slimmest ever streaming device, for $34.90 at Amazon now.
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Streaming your favorite shows and movies just got a little easier, and a little more affordable. Hot on the heels of its newly-released 4K Fire TV Stick Select last year, Amazon has debuted its newest HD streaming peripheral: the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD. It's available to preorder today, and begins shipping at the end of this month for $34.99.
This new model is about 30% slimmer, according to Amazon, than its previous model. It comes with a USB-C cable and USB-A connector that you can use to connect to your TV in lieu of a wall adapter. That's its "Direct Power" consumption, according to Amazon, so you can fit it flush behind your TV without a bulky wall brick. If you don't have a dedicated USB port, you can always use a USB-C cable and adapter, however, so there's no issues there if you're working with a different setup.
In terms of performance, Amazon claims it's "more than 30% faster on average" in comparison to the older model, so it can spring open apps and bring you your favorite shows faster. It'll also feature Alexa+ supprt if you have a subscription or Prime membership.
Beyond that, you can look forward to a new Adaptive Display setting that will help make the onscreen menu and elements pop as well as improve accessibility for users, while scaling artwork and making text and menus larger.
If you're ready for a new Amazon Fire TV experience, this might be the next model you pick up. You can get your hands on a preorder slot right now and start watching by the beginning of May for all your summer indoor binge-watching.
For U.S. teens who use TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, one of the apps stands out as more of a distraction than the others, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.
More than a quarter of teens shared that they spend too much time on TikTok, while more than a third said the app negatively affects their sleep. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said TikTok hurts their productivity. Smaller shares of teens reported similar feelings about Instagram and Snapchat.
Still, eight in 10 teens said they turned to TikTok specifically for entertainment. While respondents also considered Instagram and Snapchat reliably entertaining, teens were more likely to use those apps to keep up with friends and family, compared to TikTok.
Despite acknowledging TikTok's negative impact on their sleep and productivity, 71 percent of teens said the app neither hurt or helped their mental health. Three-quarters of teens said the same of Instagram and Snapchat. Nineteen percent of respondents shared that TikTok actually improved their mental health.
In general, about seven in 10 teens said their experiences on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are mostly positive. Only three percent reported largely negative experiences. The remaining teens characterize their engagement on the platforms as a mix of both good and bad.
The findings are based on Pew Research Center's survey of 1,458 U.S. teens and their parents last fall.
Critics have argued that social media companies are facing a "Big Tobacco moment" following a landmark court case against Meta and YouTube, which alleged that both platforms were negligently designed in ways that harmed a young user's mental health. TikTok and Snapchat settled with the plaintiff prior to the jury trial. A separate trial against Meta found the company liable for misleading consumers about child safety.
The Pew Research Center survey, which was conducted well before the trials ended, suggests that teens may feel less negative about TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat than expected.
Regardless, a quarter of parents surveyed by Pew Research Center said that social media hurt their teen's mental health while only eight percent of the teens said the same. Parents were also more likely to say their teen spent too much time on social media.
When it came to TikTok, only 28 percent of teens characterized their use in this way, but that figure increased to 44 percent when parents answered the same question.
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