Curated data roundup · 2026

Adult creator safety in 2026: 22.6% of adults have faced image-based abuse — yet no one has the data on paid creators

Published: 2026-06-23 · Updated: 2026-06-23 · CC BY 4.0 license

22.6%

of adults across 10 countries have experienced at least one form of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA).

Source: Umbach, Henry & Beard, CHI 2025, n=16,693

A curated roundup of verified institutional data on the safety of adult content creators: what is measured, what concerns only minors, and where the “commercial content” gap lies.

Why no one else has this

Adult professional content creators sit in a documented “blind spot.” Search results split in two: data on minors (NCMEC, Thorn, Europol) and corporate fraud figures from cybersecurity vendors. The middle — adult creators — is empty: no one aggregates the institutional and peer-reviewed data specifically about them. The core of this roundup is the “commercial-content gap,” confirmed verbatim: the UK Revenge Porn Helpline (SWGfL), on its page for sex workers, explicitly names AdultWork and OnlyFans and states that images uploaded to a public forum “are not covered by the current intimate-image-abuse law as they are considered commercially created,” and that “we are unable to report commercially created images on your behalf.” The same logic in the US: the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (in force since 19 May 2025, FTC enforcement from 19 May 2026) explicitly excludes “commercial pornographic content,” except in cases of coercion or deception. The result: the dedicated NCII removal mechanism cannot act on behalf of paid creators — and no consolidated data resource on their safety exists. This roundup is that resource. Regional layer: ~350 Ukrainian OnlyFans creators declared UAH 305.4M (~$7.3M), while in three years Ukraine has handed down only 6 sentences for OnlyFans work.

Key findings

  • 22.6% — One in five adults has encountered image-based sexual abuse: threatened with the release of intimate images — 14.5%, filmed without consent — 14.2%, shared without permission — 12.3%. This peer-reviewed multinational study of 16,693 adults across 10 countries is the cleanest primary measure for adults. (Umbach et al., CHI 2025 (arXiv 2503.04988))
  • 8.0% — Exactly 8.0% of adults reported that a deepfake or digitally altered sexual image was made of them. Don’t confuse this with “1.2%” — that comes from a different study (CHI 2024); this paper’s deepfake figure is 8.0%. (Umbach et al., CHI 2025)
  • 99% — Of deepfake videos online, 98% are pornographic, and 99% of victims in deepfake porn are women. These figures are vendor-sourced (Home Security Heroes), widely cited but not peer-reviewed — flagged accordingly. An honest tension: Umbach’s aggregate IBSA is near gender parity (22.7% men vs 22.3% women). (Security Hero, 2023 State of Deepfakes (vendor))
  • 50–70% — Ceartas DMCA’s CTO estimates “50 to 70% of paid OnlyFans content is stolen.” This is a vendor expert estimate via journalism, not measured prevalence — no representative study of paid-content theft exists. In an academic sample (USENIX 2024, n=43), leaks were the 2nd most common threat. (Foreign Policy 2025; Soneji et al., USENIX Security 2024)
  • 54% — For content creators, the most common attack is impersonation: 54%; account hijacking — 32%; stalking/surveillance — 31%; false reporting — 31%; doxxing — 26%. 95% recalled at least one hate & harassment incident. General sample (N=135 US creators), not only 18+. (Thomas et al. (Google), CHI 2022, N=135)
  • 65.2% — Among commercial content creators, 65.2% reported crimes by strangers, and only 40.7% could report to platforms. Key takeaway: once content is sold or published, it falls outside NCII protection — that is the commercial-content gap. (Sanders et al., New Media & Society 2025)
  • 40,143 — In FBI IC3’s 2024 age breakdown for extortion/sextortion, adults (20+) are the majority of complainants (~40,143) vs 3,806 under 20. Institutional data shows extortion victims are mostly adults, yet nearly all dedicated research (NCMEC, Thorn) is about minors. (FBI IC3, 2024 Internet Crime Report, p. 36)

IBSA among adults by type (10 countries, n=16,693)

Share of adults who experienced each form of image-based sexual abuse at least once. Deepfake images — 8.0%.

Source: Umbach, Henry & Beard, CHI 2025, n=16,693 · ofmmodels.com/research

Attacks on content creators (share affected, %)

Impersonation is the most common attack; deepfakes/manipulated content — 24%. General sample (N=135 US creators), not only adult content.

Source: Thomas et al. (Google), CHI 2022, N=135 · ofmmodels.com/research

Extortion/sextortion: FBI IC3 complainants by age (2024)

Adults are the majority of registered extortion victims, despite dedicated research focusing on minors. All ages, sexual and non-sexual extortion combined.

Source: FBI IC3, 2024 Internet Crime Report, p. 36 · ofmmodels.com/research

Revenge Porn Helpline (UK), 2024

A record year: 22,275 reports (+20.9% YoY), 90.9% removal rate. Institutional NGO data on adults.

22 275
Reports in 2024
90,9
Removal rate, %
22,7
Cases involving sextortion, %
81
Male perpetrators, %

Source: SWGfL, Revenge Porn Helpline 2024 Annual Report · ofmmodels.com/research

Download the data (CSV)JSON

Red flags of an exploitative agency

  • The agency/manager demands access to your bank or documents, or asks you to “hand over” your personal phone number to log in — loss of account control (32% of creators experience hijacking).
  • A platform or “partner” cannot name an institutional source for its figures (“deepfake attacks +1300%”, “$2.1B in losses”) — that is vendor marketing, not research.
  • A contract promises “100% leak protection” — no representative measure of paid-content theft exists; it cannot be guaranteed. The real practice is DMCA takedowns after the fact.
  • You are told your leaked paid content is “protected by revenge-porn law” — in the UK and US, commercial content is explicitly excluded from NCII protection.
  • “Chatters” reply to subscribers in your name without your knowledge or consent — the subject of lawsuits; transparency is mandatory.
  • A request for intimate content “to verify you” from a stranger, or a new contact that quickly turns to blackmail — the classic sextortion playbook.
  • A lawyer/firm cites “precedents” you cannot verify — this field has already seen a sanction for fabricated AI citations (ABA Journal, 2025).

Creator safety checklist

  • Use a separate email and phone for work accounts only; never hand your personal number to an agency — register accounts under your own details.
  • Enable two-factor authentication and a unique password on every platform; impersonation (54%) and hijacking (32%) are the most common attacks.
  • Keep proof of content ownership (originals, metadata, dates) — the basis for DMCA takedowns and reports.
  • Know your removal mechanism: in the US, TakeItDown.ftc.gov and the platform’s 48-hour removal duty; in the UK, the Revenge Porn Helpline (but not for commercial content — check your status in advance).
  • Track leaks: set search alerts for your name/handle and check stolen-content aggregators; respond quickly.
  • Minimise doxxing: remove geotags, addresses in the background, reused usernames and photos from public profiles — deepfakes are built from social-media images.
  • Vet agencies: transparent chatter terms, no demands for full access to finances/documents, a written contract.
  • In a sextortion attempt, do not pay and do not delete the conversation — preserve evidence and contact law enforcement and helplines.
  • Separate verifiable institutional data from vendor marketing when assessing any “safety guarantee.”

These are the safety standards OFM Models holds itself to — the data points to them.

How we compiled this roundup

This is a curated roundup, not an original survey: OFM Model Agency did not collect these figures but selected and aggregated already-published data from primary and institutional sources. Every figure traces to a source in the list below. Priority is given to peer-reviewed and institutional data (CHI 2025, USENIX 2024, FBI IC3, FTC, Eurostat, SWGfL); vendor figures (Home Security Heroes) are shown with an explicit “vendor” flag and are not used as evidence of prevalence. Adult and minor data are kept strictly separate: NCMEC/Thorn statistics concern minors and are not transferred to adult creators. Acknowledged limitations: no representative study of paid-content theft exists (“50–70%” is an expert estimate); IC3 does not separate sexual from general extortion. OFM acts only as curator; this material is educational and not legal advice.

Cite this research

The data is open under CC BY 4.0 — reuse with attribution and a link. CC BY 4.0 →

APA
OFM Model Agency. (2026). Adult creator safety in 2026: 22.6% of adults have faced image-based abuse — yet no one has the data on paid creators [Data report]. https://ofmmodels.com/en/research/onlyfans-creator-safety-2026
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<blockquote>Source: <a href="https://ofmmodels.com/en/research/onlyfans-creator-safety-2026">Adult creator safety in 2026: 22.6% of adults have faced image-based abuse — yet no one has the data on paid creators</a> — OFM Model Agency (2026). License CC BY 4.0.</blockquote>

Where to get help

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