It seems the parents vs. social networking apps feud is far from ending. Parents have been deeply committed to protect children from adult social media. Once again, parents are questioning is OnlyFans safe to use for kids? Furthermore, the contention arises from the nature of the content available and the platform's stance towards user safety.
Reading on enlightens you on what OnlyFans is, how it works and why millions of kids are signing up. Additionally, you will discover the effects of OnlyFans on children and how to keep them safe from OnlyFans.
Table of Contents
Part 1: What is OnlyFans?
Part 2: Is OnlyFans Safe to Use?
What is OnlyFans?
In September 2016, Tim and Thomas Stokely launched OnlyFans to the world. OnlyFans is a UK-Owned social networking platform where users share video content for a fee. Initially, its popularity among the netizens was average. However, Leonid Radvisnky's 75% acquisition has seen its user base skyrocket.
The site now features primarilynot safe for workcontent, most of which is pornography. Consequently, content creators focus more on sexual content to cash in, leaving parents asking is OnlyFans secure. Furthermore, with celebrities such as Bella Thorne and Cardi B having accounts, the platform's user base continues to grow. For example, the platform currently has 120 million daily active users, up from 26 million in March 2020.
Is OnlyFans Safe to Use?
OnlyFans isn’t safe for children because it has a lot of explicit content and weak age checks that kids can sometimes bypass. Children could share personal information without realizing the risks, fall prey to scams, or even use family funds for subscriptions. We've listed some risks of OnlyFans below:
1. Posting explicit content
Social media influencing is the easiest way for you to gain celebrity status. But, the type of content you create on OnlyFans determines how fast you get there. Incidentally, reports on social networking sites reveal explicit content is the most sought-after material. Also, it ranks highest in terms of earning potential. Therefore, the majority of the content available is sexual. This abundance increases the exposure threat to teens OnlyFans.
2. A loose age-verification process
Complaints against the platform's loose age-verification process continue to grow louder. For example, a news investigation reveals the reporters using a random 16-year-old's identity card to set up an account. Furthermore, it features quotes verifyingOnlyFans teens to be as young as fourteen years.
3. Child pornography
The report by Internet Watch Fund shows a 77% increase in child pornography across the internet. Additionally, social networking sites like OnlyFans rank as the highest distributors of this content. Furthermore, it highlights that 68,000 of the cases assessed were voluntary submissions.
As such, the willingness of children to expose themselves online increases their vulnerability to predators.
4. Sexual trafficking
Carrying on, the increasing volume of user-submitted underage sexual content is appealing to sex traffickers. A predator may recruit your child to their sex trafficking rig by promising huge payouts in exchange for them sharing explicit material.
Similarly,BBC News acknowledges recording statements fromsources legitimizing the claim. For example, they quote the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children verifying thata dozen of the missing children cases have links to content on OnlyFans.
5. Cyberbullying
Content sharing is common practice in the social networking community. It involves users exchanging information on common interests via memes, videos, and URLs. However, some of the information changing hands may be sensitive, which can be detrimental to the creator, which shows the signs of cyberbullying. For example, there are several instances where users experience instances of body shaming and hate speech.
Does OnlyFans Have Safety Measures?
Your clarification guide continues to highlight all your concerns about OnlyFans. However, does OnlyFans have safety measures?
Below are the OnlyFans safety measures that different investigative reports identify.
Photo ID and selfies
Registration now requires creators to provide a real-time selfie and a picture ID to obtain access. However, further checks confirm underage OnlyFans teens can easily falsify their identity without any issues. Therefore, the platform's age verification needs a substantial upgrade.
Content regulation
Finally, the platform's view on content creation and distribution is clear on its terms of service agreement. For example, the acceptable use policy states that creators must be eighteen years or above when registering for the service. Additionally, the content they share should not include any references to minors or promote services catering to escort services, prostitution, or sex trafficking. However, reports continue to reveal thousands of live creator accounts in violation of these terms. Furthermore, OnlyFans representatives are yet to officially communicate on the platform's efforts to tighten their content moderation mechanisms.
An in-house team of moderators
The platform employs a team of moderators who manually verify user applications and IDs. Additionally, OnlyFans representatives emphasize that it issues lifetime bans to all violators.
OnlyFans privacy policy document and terms of service agreement
Thirdly, OnlyFans does have a privacy policy and terms of service agreement that users consent to when registering their profiles. However, further investigations reveal the presence of massive loopholes and laxities around user safety. For example, the privacy policy informs you of OnlyFans' use of reasonable safeguards to protect your data. Unfortunately, it does not name the exact safeguards.
How to Safeguard Kids on OnlyFans?
So, given the growing list of threats to young ones, is there a robust way of how to safeguard kids on OnlyFans?
1. Safeguard Your Kids With KidsGuard for Children
Parental control remains the only sure way to protect your kids online. KidsGuard for Children is a parental control app available to both Android and iOS. Additionally, you can monitor your child's internet activity remotely. Furthermore, the app does not requires you to root your device. Signing up is easy, and onboarding takes less than 5 minutes.
Key Features of KidsGuard for Children:
Checking Browsing History: You can view all the URLs your kid visits using their device, even the deleted browsing history.
Monitoring Social Media: KidsGuard for Children can monitor over lots of the most common social platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, etc. Moreover, it keeps track of all message, videos and photos on these platform.
Viewing Call Logs: Additionally, KidsGuard for Children tracks your target device's call information. Consequently, you can identify any suspicious numbers and take the appropriate action.
Tracking Location: KidsGuard for Children provides you with real-time location details of the target device. It utilizes the device's GPS signal and internet connection information to pinpoint its exact location. Consequently, you are always aware of the whereabouts of your loved ones.
How to Make Your Kids Safe with KidsGuard for Children
The app is available for download for both iOS and Android Users. Additionally, the activation procedure is the same for both platforms. Android users can follow the steps below:
Step 1. Create a KidsGuard for Children Account
Register an account by filling in your details on the KidsGuard for Children website and purchase a license.
Step 2. Download and Install KidsGuard for Children
Then, use the link to install the app across your target device and follow the instruction to install it.
Step 3. Start Protecting Your Kids
Finally, log in your KidsGuard for Children account and wait for syncing data from your target phone to dashboard, and then you can check all phone activities to start protecting your kids.
2. Check Credit Card
Since OnlyFans is a subscription service, you can determine your child's activity by looking for charges from the platform in your credit card statement.
3. Talk With Kids about the Damaging Effects of Pornography
Curiosity is the primary motivation for kids joining social networking platforms like OnlyFans. Therefore, take time to discuss human sexuality with your children and answer their questions. Consequently, they are less motivated to look for answers elsewhere, thereby reducing their exposure to pornography.
Conclusion
The OnlyFans continues to raise concerns on child safety and its laxity towards explicit content. As such, your only option is to engage parental apps like KidsGuard for Children to ensure your kids' safety. Check out below demo today and experience the best tool for your child's internet safety.