OnlyFans unblocked in China

Users in China have been able to access OnlyFans, a subscription-based website best known for adult content, for over a week.

The heavily adult-oriented website was previously available in China only sporadically and for much shorter periods of time, but now appears to be directly accessible even without a VPN connection, according to social media users.

“Some netizens have discovered that the fan subscription platform OnlyFans can now be directly accessed from mainland China,” a user on Weibo, a popular microblogging website in China, said in a post dated November 29th.

That’s when OnlyFans was unblocked, CNN reported citing GreatFire, an organization that monitors internet freedom in China. CNN’s own tests verified that the platform could indeed be accessed from the mainland.

Given China's “zero-tolerance” pornography laws, which prohibit the production, dissemination, and sale of sexually explicit material, the availability of OnlyFans has raised eyebrows online.

On Weibo, users expressed skepticism that the website was simply unblocked, suggesting it might be a temporary glitch in China’s Great Firewall. Many speculated that the access would soon be blocked again.

“Did you really need to announce it on Weibo for everyone to see?” one user enquired under a post delivering the news. Another said: “Why don’t you just tag the relevant authorities while you’re at it?”

Others noted that the website has always been accessible through VPNs and said it is unlikely to be used by many people in China considering it did not accept Chinese payment methods like Alipay.

However, some netizens joked it was the government’s way to help the country’s youth struggling in the dire job market. According to official data, the unemployment rate for people in the 16-24 age group, excluding students, stood at 17.1% in October.

The development led to some humorous reactions on Western social media as well, including Reddit, where someone posted: “First OnlyFans billionaire when, 2026, 2027?”

Another joked, “There go all the math olympiads.”

While OnlyFans is popular with sex workers, it is also used by creators of porn-free content, including music and sports – something that some Chinese social media users said they would also be interested in.

“I hope teachers from prestigious schools can offer math, physics, and chemistry courses for elementary, middle, and high school levels on the platform. I’ll definitely pay for it!” a post on Weibo read.