What to Do If Someone Has Stolen Your OnlyFans Content

For many content creators, such as webcam models, musicians, influencers, and more, OnlyFans is a reliable and lucrative source of income. But what happens when you find out someone has stolen your OnlyFans content?

If someone has stolen your OnlyFans content, we recommend taking one or more of the following actions:

• Send a DMCA takedown notice to the perpetrator to compel the removal of your copyrighted content,
• Send a cease and desist letter requesting the perpetrator cease their unlawful conduct,
• Initiate a criminal case against the perpetrator,
• File a civil lawsuit for copyright infringement or privacy torts, and
• Work with an experienced internet or copyright attorney to compel the removal of the stolen exclusive content and navigate OnlyFans reporting and/or removal procedures.

At Minc Law, we have extensive experience successfully removing stolen, copyrighted, and unlawful posts, profiles, and other content from popular social media and professional networking websites. We know what it takes to stop online harassment and hold perpetrators liable for their unlawful actions, without drawing unnecessary attention to the matter.

In this article, we explain how to identify if your OnlyFans content has been stolen. Then, we explore the legal and non-legal options available to you if your posts or images have been published without your consent elsewhere online.

How to Know if Someone Has Stolen Your OnlyFans Content

OnlyFans is a popular and rapidly growing internet content subscription service on which content creators can earn money from ‘fans’ who subscribe to their content. In recent years, the platform has gained popularity in the online world—and it specifically secured a surge of content creators and followers during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.

But what happens if one of your subscribed users steals your OnlyFans content? And how would you know if an individual has actually taken that content? For content creators who utilize OnlyFans to earn a living or even bring in extra side income, having one’s content stolen and republished can have significant implications.

What Can Happen if Someone Steals Your OnlyFans Content?

If someone steals your OnlyFans content, they could share or send it to friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. The thief could also post your content to the internet for all to see and in some cases, monetize it.

As an OnlyFans user, you may have posted your content for a select audience to view—but you did not agree to have your copyrighted material publicly posted to the web. This violation of your wishes could result in stress, emotional harm, and even potential financial loss.

If your OnlyFans content is stolen, there are options available. Below, we explain how you can protect yourself and your content from being stolen on OnlyFans (and what to do if it is stolen).

How to Identify if Someone Has Stolen Your OnlyFans Content

If you are an OnlyFans content creator and you are concerned that someone may have stolen your posts, videos, or images, here are a few ways you can confirm your suspicions:

1. Conduct a Reverse Image Search

A reverse image search enables you to find other websites that contain the image, video, or content you think may have been stolen.

To do this, save a copy of the image or images that you think may have been stolen. Then, open a search engine with a reverse image search tool, like Google image search.

Drag and drop the image into the search bar and examine the search engine results.

2. Navigate Popular Adult Content Sites For Republished Content

Check popular adult content websites to see if your OnlyFans content has been posted to any of these platforms. Some popular sites that host adult content include:

• PornHub,
• RedTube,
• XHamster.com,
• Tumblr,
• Reddit, and
• Twitter.

Many adult websites and platforms see a ripple effect where after a video or image is posted to one it is then copied and published across countless others.

3. Subscribe to a Facial or Image Recognition Service

You can also purchase or subscribe to a facial or image recognition service to search for your images and alert you to any matches. These types of services use advanced facial recognition technology and machine learning to locate the same picture online.

For example, PIM EYES helps you discover where a particular face or image appears on the internet.

What Happens if a User Takes a Screenshot of Your Content in OnlyFans?

OnlyFans does not condone screenshotting or recording a creator’s content. To prevent unauthorized screenshotting or recording of content, OnlyFans content moderation team has disabled the ability to download content creators’ videos directly from the platform or app.

However, some users resort to screenshotting and screen recording by utilizing special screen recording apps, additional devices (phones or cameras), or other workarounds to unlawfully capture content.

If a user obtains a copy of the content by using a third-party device or application, it is important to note that distributing a creator’s content on another platform like social media violates OnlyFans’ Terms of Service (ToS). Their ToS reads:

“Do not reproduce, print, distribute, attempt to download, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any Content, except as permitted under the Terms of Service.”

Finally, unlike Snapchat, OnlyFans content creators are not notified when someone takes a screenshot or screen records their content.

How Can You Prove That Your OnlyFans Content Has Been Stolen?

One of the most effective and straightforward strategies to prove that your OnlyFans content has been stolen is to prove that you are the copyright owner.

Minc Law Copyright Fact: As a general rule, a copyright owner is the person who created the content. If you took the picture or video, then you are the copyright owner, even without having registered it formally. Under the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, all photos are protected by copyright from the very moment of creation.

For added protection and explicit public notice of your copyright, registering your image, video, or content with the U.S. Copyright Office Database is recommended. However, this tactic is not often a realistic option for OnlyFans content creators or social media users.

To prove you are the copyright owner without actually registering your image, you can place a watermark or customized logo on the photo. We dive into how to add a watermark in greater detail below.

It is also recommended to keep original copies of your photos or media (in a raw file, such as a full-size JPEG) and metadata (such as names and camera serial numbers). These methods could help you prove that you are the copyright owner and that your content has been unlawfully recorded or screenshotted from OnlyFans.

How OnlyFans Protect Its Users & Creators

Like many social media platforms, OnlyFans has terms of service and abuse policies in place to protect both its users and content creators. Whether you are posting content on the internet or just browsing a social media platform, it is important to know how your content and data are protected and secured.

OnlyFans claims to be “…extremely committed to protecting the content and data of our creators.”

Below, we explain how OnlyFans protects its users and content creators.

How Does OnlyFans Protect Its Users?

For the casual user or subscriber browsing OnlyFans, the platform provides several protections, including encrypted user data, two-factor authentication, and reporting capability.

1. Data Encryption

OnlyFans ensures that their users’ personal information, such as their address and date of birth, is stored on separate servers. That information is also fully encrypted so that hackers cannot access their users’ details.

2. Two-Factor Authentication

Users have the option to protect their accounts by using a two-factor verification process. By enabling two-step authentication, users can add an extra layer of protection to their accounts.

To enable two-step authentication, users can follow these steps:

1. Download Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator on your phone,
2. Login to your OnlyFans account and navigate to “Settings,”
3. Click on “Account” and select “Two-Step Verification” and click to enable it, and
4. Follow the instructions to connect your authenticator app by adding the QR code or Key.

Once connected, you will need to enter a 6-digit code every time you log in to your OnlyFans account. These timestamped codes, which change every 30 seconds, provide only a fractional (and near-impossible) window for hackers to guess the correct string of numbers.

3. Reporting Content on OnlyFans

One of the most effective safeguards that OnlyFans employs to protect its users is by enabling them to report content that violates its terms of service. OnlyFans users and content creators can report content for the following terms of service violations:

• Offensive or TOS violating material,
• Stolen material,
• Spam, and
• Abuse.

To report content on OnlyFans, users can take the following steps:

1. Navigate to the content or profile that you would like to report,
2. Press the “More” button on the top right-hand corner of the profile or content and select “Report,” and
3. Select a reason for reporting from the secondary menu and press submit.

How Does OnlyFans Protect Its Content Creators?

As with its users, OnlyFans also seeks to protect the driving force behind the platform – its content creators. Safeguards and protections for content creators come in the form of privacy settings, content protection features, data encryption, and two-factor authentication.

1. Restrictive Tools to Privatize Content & Interactions

According to OnlyFans, there are several effective strategies that content creators employ to control what their fans and users see. First, creators can navigate to “Settings” and click on “Privacy and Safety.” Then, they can choose to enable the “Fully Private Profile.”

Creators can also enable or disable other functions such as “Show Activity Status.” They can also restrict or block fans from seeing their content and engaging with them by commenting on posts or sending direct messages.

2. Content Protections

OnlyFans also provides several content protections for its creators, including allowing them to enable or disable comments on their posts.

The platform also suggests that content creators add watermarks or customized logos to their content to discourage fans from re-posting their content without their consent or permission.

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To add a watermark to your OnlyFans images, videos, or other media, creators can navigate to “Settings” and click on “Privacy and Safety.” Then, click “Watermarks” and select the content to which you would like to add the watermark.

3. Data Encryption

OnlyFans guarantees that content creators’ earnings are protected. The platform keeps its content creators’ financial information stored by PCI-compliant payment processors, meaning that it adheres to a strict set of technical and operational security standards. This encryption helps make certain that your financial information will not be stolen by hackers or scammers.

4. Two-Factor Authentication

Like OnlyFans users, content creators also have the option to protect their accounts with a two-step authentication process. To enable the two-step authentication process, creators can follow these steps:

1. Download Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator on your phone,
2. Login to your OnlyFans account and go to “Settings,”
3. Click on “Account” and select “Two-Step Verification” and click to enable it, and
4. Follow the instructions to connect your authenticator app by adding the QR code or Key.

Once connected, OnlyFans creators will need to enter a 6-digit code every time they log into OnlyFans. As mentioned above, the time-sensitive 6-digit codes help minimize the timeframe a hacker has to successfully guess the required number set.

How Can OnlyFans Prevent People From Stealing Content?

OnlyFans strongly recommends that creators add a watermark to their photos and videos to discourage users from re-posting or stealing content from the creators.

As explained in the section ‘How to Know If Someone Has Stolen Your OnlyFans Content’, OnlyFans does not offer a download option for videos or photos on the platform. However, some users may use a third-party app to screen-record or download images from OnlyFans.

Users should know that downloading OnlyFans content violates the platform’s policies and terms of service. When creating an account, all platform users agree “not to sell, rent, transfer, or share your account or any Content obtained from your use of OnlyFans to or with anyone else.”

If your content is stolen, OnlyFans offers free support and a DMCA team that is free to all creators. This team will identify and request to remove any copyrighted content as quickly as possible—especially if that content has been watermarked.

Should a creator find any content on OnlyFans that they believe was stolen from them, they can click “Report” near the post and select the option, “This content contains stolen material (DMCA).”

Once reported, the DMCA team will review, take action, and work to resolve the matter.

It is important to note that the DMCA option through OnlyFans only applies to content that is published on OnlyFans.com. If your content is being published outside of the OnlyFans website, consult with an experienced internet attorney to discuss your legal options.

Legal Options When Someone Steals Your OnlyFans Content

As an OnlyFans creator, you depend on the security and privacy of your content. Not only is controlling access to your content important for earning money, but you also likely want that content to remain private for personal or professional reasons.

There are legal options available to you—including sending a DMCA takedown notice, hiring a lawyer, and even filing a lawsuit.

What Legal Recourse Do I Have If Someone Has Stolen My OnlyFans Content?

Below, we explain the various legal options you can exercise if your OnlyFans posts or images have been republished against your will elsewhere online.

Send a DMCA Takedown Notice

When it comes to removing unwanted online content, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) provides a valuable tool known as the DMCA takedown notice.

The DMCA enables copyright holders to request the removal of infringing online content. If your content from OnlyFans is being taken and posted to other OnlyFans accounts or other platforms on the internet, you can send a DMCA takedown notice to remove this content.

A DMCA takedown notice (or DMCA request) is:

• A legal request to remove copyright-protected online content;
• Sent from a copyright holder or their designated agent;
• To the person who unlawfully posted the content (or the website, search engine, or web host where the content was posted).

Also, contrary to what you might assume, you do not need to have a registered copyright to send a DMCA takedown request. Simply being the owner of the content makes it possible to send a DMCA notice.

Send a Cease and Desist Letter

If an individual is specifically targeting your content on OnlyFans and spreading it to other platforms or using it for other purposes, you may have the option of sending a cease and desist letter to stop the spread of your content.

A cease and desist letter can be an effective, serious warning to a perpetrating party that warns if they do not stop their unlawful activities, you may take legal action against them.

These letters can also be a practical first line of defense to resolve your legal issue when you are hoping to avoid litigation. An experienced attorney can send effectively composed letters on your behalf much more quickly than they could file a lawsuit—and for far less money.

Initiate Criminal Action

For OnlyFans creators whose content has been stolen and republished without their permission, there may be legal recourse under certain criminal statutes for revenge porn.

Criminal cases are prosecuted by law enforcement and your local district attorney. Victims do not have to pay for this service and do not have to have a private attorney to bring a criminal action against the perpetrator.

However, it can be very helpful to retain a private attorney, since law enforcement resources can be stretched thin. It can often expedite the process—and help bring proper attention to your case—to retain a private attorney to assist in the process, gather evidence, and speak with investigators.

Minc Law Fact: Currently, 41 states and the District of Columbia have laws against nonconsensual porn. In those states, perpetrators can be punished by jail time or large fines. As of July 2020, the only states that have not criminalized nonconsensual pornography are Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, and Wyoming.

File a Civil Lawsuit Against the Perpetrator

If you are a content creator on OnlyFans and your photos and videos are being stolen, you may have grounds to file a civil lawsuit. We dive deeper into this topic in the section “What types of lawsuits can you pursue when someone steals your OnlyFans content?” below.

What Type of Lawyer Should You Contact if Someone Steals Your Onlyfans Content?

If someone has stolen your OnlyFans content, contact an internet defamation lawyer who has experience dealing with DMCA notices and revenge porn issues. If you are having copyright issues, you can also contact an intellectual property attorney or an attorney with experience with copyright infringement.

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What Types of Lawsuits Can You Pursue When Someone Steals Your Onlyfans Content?

Revenge Porn Lawsuit

If your OnlyFans content is being stolen and distributed online without your consent, you may be able to file a revenge porn lawsuit against this individual. Only 12 states currently have civil statutes regarding the non-consensual sharing of private images.

It is also important to note that you will likely not be able to sue the platform or website where the image or video content was posted. Because most sites where non-consensual porn is shared are “user-submitted content” sites, they are protected under the immunity granted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Minc Law Tip: For more information about fighting revenge porn and revenge porn law, please check out our article: Revenge Porn Laws: How to Fight Back. It includes a table that outlines which states have criminal laws against nonconsensual porn, as well as links to the specific state code.

Infliction of Emotional Distress & Privacy Tort Lawsuits

If a revenge porn lawsuit is not an option for you, there may be other civil claims under which you can sue. Some possible civil claims include:

• Intentional infliction of emotional distress, and
• Privacy torts (false light, intrusion invasion of privacy, and misappropriation).

For example, when it comes to stolen OnlyFans media, an argument might be made that a creator expects their content not to be stolen or distributed anywhere else. But if a user were to steal that content and publish it elsewhere without your consent, this act could be considered an invasion of privacy—and possibly the intentional infliction of emotional distress, depending on the circumstances.

Unlike criminal matters, you will need a private attorney for civil claims. However, you may be able to collect damages from the perpetrator at the end of a civil lawsuit or as part of a settlement.

Copyright Infringement

If someone is stealing your OnlyFans content and distributing it without consent, you may have a copyright infringement claim. A copyright owner can sue for an injunction to stop the unauthorized use of the copyrighted material by the defendant. The plaintiff can also recover damages in certain matters.

To advance a valid civil copyright infringement claim, a plaintiff must prove two things:

1. That they own the copyright, and
2. That the defendant infringed it.

As always, it is best to consult with a legal expert to determine the best action to take in these situations.

What Can You Win if You Take Legal Action for Someone Stealing Your Onlyfans Content?

First, it is important to note that not all lawsuits result in damages for the plaintiffs. Damages can be difficult to prove in certain circumstances.

If your legal action against the perpetrator(s) is successful, you may receive damages from a few hundred up to millions of dollars depending on your claims and circumstance. It is important to note that winning a high monetary judgment in matters like these is rare and you should not approach a lawsuit with the expectation of receiving thousands (or even millions) of dollars in damages.

We recommend speaking with an experienced internet or copyright attorney about your options to discuss whether or not you are eligible for damages in a civil lawsuit.

When to Seek Legal Help if Someone Has Stolen Your OnlyFans Content

If you are a content creator on OnlyFans and your content has been stolen, you may need to seek legal help. An attorney can help you if any of the following scenarios have happened to you:

• Someone stole your OnlyFans videos or photos and is publishing them under a different OnlyFans account,
• Someone has created an impersonation account of you on OnlyFans,
• Someone stole your OnlyFans videos or photos and is publishing them on a different platform,
• Someone is distributing your video or images from OnlyFans without your content on adult content websites, or
• Someone is harassing or stalking you through OnlyFans or online.

How Can You Find Legal Help if Someone Steals Your OnlyFans Content?

If an OnlyFans user steals your content, we recommend using these resources to find a legal professional to assist you:

• Avvo
• Nolo
• FindLaw
• Lawyers
• Your local Attorney Bar Association

How Do You Know it is Time to Seek Legal Help For Stolen Content From OnlyFans?

If your OnlyFans content has been stolen and you have tried to remedy the situation yourself but have not had any success, it is probably time to consult with an attorney who has experience handling these types of issues.

Attorneys can help you preserve evidence, evaluate your legal claims, send DMCA notices and cease and desist letters, and file civil lawsuits. Attorneys have expertise when it comes to the law and can help you navigate the confusing world of copyright claims, revenge porn, and civil suits.

Attorneys that have experience with internet defamation and content removal are tech-savvy and can launch investigations to identify anonymous users online. Internet attorneys are licensed legal professionals who handle online defamation, copyright infringement claims, and other internet privacy-related issues daily. This experience means they are up-to-date on internet law and changes to the law – both important requirements for advancing your content removal claim and navigating the intricacies of user-generated content platforms.

Why is it Important to Seek Legal Help Quickly if Someone Has Stolen Your OnlyFans Content?

It is important to find legal help quickly if someone has stolen your OnlyFans content. If you are planning on taking legal action in a court of law, it is best to move quickly to avoid issues with the spoliation of evidence and the statute of limitations.

For example, the statute of limitations for bringing a revenge porn claim in some states is one year. For copyright infringement claims, the statute of limitations is typically three years.

Here at Minc Law, we have helped countless clients remove unwanted or copyright material from the internet. Our goal is to bring you peace of mind if you ever find yourself in a stressful situation involving the publishing of private or copyrighted material. We take a compassionate and non-judgmental approach with all our clients because we know just how stressful and overwhelming these types of situations can be.

★★★★★
“Melanie and the team at Minc did a great job taking offensive posts down of several websites. Quick and efficient, with good communication during the whole process. I can’t thank them enough!”

Anonymous

Jan 22, 2021

If your OnlyFans content has been stolen and you would like to learn more about your options, check out our Legal Resource Center or contact us for a no-obligation consultation by calling us at (216) 373-7706, speaking with a Chat Representative, or filling out our online contact form.