During lockdown, adult services were no longer being discussed as something scandalous. Instead, they were being treated as potentially lucrative careers that practically anybody with a smartphone could pursue.
Fast-forward to 2026, and platforms like OnlyFans are more popular than ever. Meanwhile, escort agencies are being marketed as a premium service, AI is changing adult entertainment, and governments are introducing stricter rules about what people can access online.
But what does all this mean for how we actually view adult services? Have we become more accepting of the people working in the industry, or has the excitement given way to greater scrutiny, scepticism and criticism?
COVID & the Rise of OnlyFans
When Britain entered lockdown, escort bookings and adult entertainment venues were disrupted by social restrictions, while millions of people were stuck at home with very little to do.
For OnlyFans, the timing couldn’t have been better. The platform had around 120,000 creators at the end of 2019. By the end of 2020, that figure had reportedly passed one million. Women who had never considered producing adult content were suddenly hearing stories about creators earning thousands from pics, videos and personalised messages.
It became an extremely lucrative career for some, and for many others, it offered a way to earn money while their usual employment had disappeared. And while COVID might have triggered the initial explosion in popularity, the platform is making much more money today than it did during lockdown.
Everyone Wants OnlyFans Success, But There’s a Catch
OnlyFans had approximately five million creator accounts in 2025, including 2.5 million active accounts. Creators received around $6.2 billion during the year, while the platform itself generated approximately $1.6 billion in revenue.
With so many accounts competing for subscribers, standing out is becoming increasingly difficult. Not just that, but consider the earnings figures for a moment. If you divided the $6.2 billion paid to creators equally among those 2.5 million active accounts, you’d get approximately $207 per account per month.
Building a successful page also requires marketing, photography, regular content, social media promotion and keeping subscribers interested enough to continue paying. And that’s before accounting for the platform’s 20% cut, promotional expenses and taxes.
The early fascination with women becoming millionaires from their bedrooms isn’t so common anymore. Instead, the conversation is all about competition, the work involved and just how difficult building a profitable account can be.
The OnlyFans Image Is Starting to Crack
For years, one of OnlyFans’ biggest attractions was the promise of independence, with no studio bosses or producers telling you what to do. Just you, your content and the money coming in from subscribers. Unfortunately, that’s not quite true…
In June 2026, the BBC investigated the growing industry of OnlyFans management agencies in its documentary OnlyFans: Inside the Machine. The investigation heard from 60 UK creators and uncovered allegations of manipulation, financial exploitation and managers pressuring women into producing content.
One contract examined by the BBC entitled a manager to half of a creator’s earnings after OnlyFans had already taken its 20% share. And some of the allegations went even further than expensive management fees, including creators being locked out of accounts, having payment information changed and facing threats when they tried to leave an agency.
These revelations have complicated the public perception of adult content creation. Stories about financial freedom are now sharing headlines with investigations into working conditions, management practices and exploitation. Quite a change from the pandemic-era excitement surrounding the industry’s newest millionaires, eh?
Has the Attitude Towards Escorts Changed?
Escorting has undergone quite the transformation over the last decade or so. For the longest time, pop culture associated the profession with seedy establishments and women operating on the fringes of society.
But visit a modern escort agency website, and you’ll often find something much more sophisticated. Professional photos, detailed profiles, verified reviews and companions available for everything from private appointments to dinner dates and formal occasions.
Instead of trying to meet somebody spontaneously, one might browse the escorts at London Deluxe and arrange company for dinner, cocktails or a private appointment. Why? Because the experience is viewed as a luxury… one that many high-end clients indulge in.
And the luxury approach isn’t limited to escort agencies. Adult venues like Platinum Lace Piccadilly market their adult entertainment around VIP booths, private rooms, premium drinks and exclusive packages. So, rather than presenting everything purely in terms of sex, adult businesses are now selling discretion, personal attention and experiences that overlap with luxury hospitality.
We’re Now Much Stricter About Who Can Watch Porn
Since 25 July 2025, adult websites and other online services allowing access to porn have been required to implement stronger age checks under the UK’s Online Safety Act. Depending on the service, that might involve facial age estimation, credit-card verification or identity checks.
The changes have prompted concerns about privacy, with plenty of adults understandably uncomfortable with the idea of handing over sensitive personal information just to watch something naughty online.
Rather than remaining a largely unrestricted corner of the internet, adult websites are increasingly expected to demonstrate that they can protect children, handle personal information responsibly and comply with rules about the content they distribute.
So, whilst pornography is more accessible and commercially successful than it was twenty years ago, there’s also much greater public and political pressure for the industry to operate responsibly.
How Have Attitudes Towards Adult Services Changed?
During COVID, OnlyFans helped transform adult content creation into something that looked like an exciting business opportunity. As millions more people joined, however, the conversation shifted towards competition, realistic earnings and the difficulties of making money.
Escorting, meanwhile, has embraced luxury branding, with high-end agencies promoting everything from dinner dates to exclusive companionship experiences. And now tighter online safety regulations and investigations into exploitation are giving people even more reasons to question how adult services operate.
And with AI introducing entirely new forms of adult entertainment, it’ll be interesting to see what we’re all talking about five years from now.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
