OnlyFans is pushing an exclusively “safe for work” app on Apple and Google devices — but has meanwhile tapped an ex-porn star to help promote it.
Former adult actress Mia Khalifa has a series of free interview videos on OnlyFans’ new app, called “OFTV,” which supposedly is part of the company’s initiative to distance itself from its image as a porn platform.
The app also features former Disney princess Bella Thorne — who famously courted backlash after opening a no-nudity OnlyFans account last year. OFTV also hosts other risque content like a podcast called “Coffee and Cleavage” and a variety of cooking shows featuring young women in low-cut tops.
“I just don’t get who they think their audience is going to be,” wrote one Twitter user. “Nobody’s going to go out of their way to watch non-adult content by adult content creators.”
Another deemed OFTV “the O’Douls of video services,” referring to a brand of non-alcoholic beer.
OnlyFans, which says it has more than 150 million users worldwide, is primarily known as a platform where people sell nude photos and videos. The company’s explicit reputation has prevented it from releasing apps for Apple and Google devices, as both tech giants have policies forbidding pornography apps.
Khalifa — who sparked controversy for wearing a hijab in several porn videos in the mid-2010s before quitting the industry — is not featured in an OnlyFans press release announcing OFTV. But as a woman who was at one time the most searched-for name on adult site Pornhub, she is easily among the platform’s biggest stars.
Thorne, meanwhile, caught flak from some lesser-known OnlyFans producers last August after opening an account and raking in a record $2 million over 24 hours after promising to sell nude photos for $200 and then not delivering.
“You scammed people, which in return made us look like scammers and not the hard working people we are,” wrote one annoyed sex worker at the time.
OFTV, which as a no nudity policy, has been available on Apple devices since last August, according to App Store records — but OnlyFans has not promoted it publicly until this week.
OnlyFans didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Post.
“There’s no adult content on OFTV,” CEO Tim Stokely told Bloomberg. “Because it’s not being monetized and there’s no direct impact on creators’ earnings, we are able to be in the app store.”
In addition to making releasing apps difficult, the company’s smutty reputation may also be scaring off potential venture capital investors, many of which have agreements that prevent them from investing in “vice” industries including porn, alcohol and firearms.
OFTV, which will not change fees or include advertising, is part of a marketing push to clean up the company’s reputation while keeping profitable explicit content on its main website.
“People who have come on to OFTV to watch one video may go on to choose another,” Stokely told Bloomberg. “It’s a wider audience, and perhaps a slightly different audience.”