THOUSANDS of raunchy pictures and videos have leaked online from one of the world's biggest porn sites.
The files, from adult subscription site OnlyFans, have been dumped into huge databases and shared across the internet by randy cyber crooks.
Users typically pay to access the content of individual porn stars on the site, of which there are more than 18,000 uploading regularly, according to OnlyFans.
Celebs including Danniella Westbrook, Danielle Lloyd, Bex Shiner and Katie Salmon all use the service to make a bit of extra cash.
The dump means many of OnlyFans performers now have their content available on the internet for free. The twist is that OnlyFans claims that it hasn't been hacked.
Instead, the leak appears to be the result of a coordinated online effort by users to steal and share as much of the site's content as possible.
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a hugely popular app with a reported 30million users.
It's a membership platform where fans can pay to see their favourite smut stars on a subscription basis.
"Performers" charge monthly fees for access to pornographic photos, video and more.
As well as porn performers, sex workers and Instagram influencers use the site. It boasts 18,000 performers in total, according to OnlyFans.
"Whether you’re uploading tutorials, tips, behind-the-scenes footage or just endless selfies, a lot of your followers would be willing to pay for them," states OnlyFans.
Monthly fees start from $5 (£3.90) and can go as high as performers want. Users also send individual tips to creators.
For every subscription that's sold to a viewer, performers get 80 per cent of the cash while OnlyFans gets 20 per cent.
Has OnlyFans been hacked?
Earlier this week, links to huge databases of the site's content appeared across several forums and websites.
The caches contained more than 1.6 terabytes worth of videos and images from the site – enough to store roughly 800 Hollywood films in Full HD.
The database features the content of hundreds of creators organised by their screen names or pseudonyms.
When news initially broke on social media, via journalist Vonny LeClerc, many creators and fans presumed the site had fallen victim to hackers.
However, OnlyFans denies any breach of its systems.
"We have investigated claims of a site wide hack and found no evidence of any breach of our systems," the site's Steve Pym wrote on Twitter.
"The content contained in the supposed 'leak' seems to be curated from multiple sources, including other social media applications."
The Sun has reached out to OnlyFans for additional comment.
Who's responsible for the leak?
Rather than a hacker, the suggestion among creators and fans is that the leak was put together by an organised group.
The leak appears to be a coordinated effort by customers collecting the photos and video individually.
They then shared the pilfered content with one another to form a gigantic free database. It's not clear if this was an illegal act.
Creators have complained on social media that screen-recording software, which allows you to take a video of whatever's on your computer screen, opened the door for the leak.
"This is directly a product from screen recording applications," model etherealzoey wrote on Twitter.
"Has OnlyFans done anything to combat the issue that many models continuously bring up?"
What does this mean for the site's performers?
For those whose photos and videos have been leaked, the leak will likely starve them of a source of income.
"Lots of people who use [OnlyFans] rely on this as a revenue stream," LeClerc, the journalist who first spotted the leak, told Buzzfeed.
"Younger people, trans and nonbinary people, disabled people, people who may not have the easiest access to traditional employment.
"It gives anyone a means of making paywall-protected adult content. But clearly, it offers zero protection for creators, whose content can be bought and then freely distributed onwards."
‘Iranian hackers’ take control of US government website and post image of a bloodied TrumpTOP STORIES IN TECH
In other news, hackers have invented a new tactic for sextortion scams that involve filming victims watching porn before blackmailing them.
A virtual reality porn app exposed 20,000 randy viewers' names and download habits in 2018.
And, fake porn videos on adult sites let hackers scam 110,000 randy users a year, according to cyber experts.
What do you think of the OnlyFans hack? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKynZpOke7a3jq2cnKBfZn5xgo9ubnJnn6O5urLAp6pmpJWWuG6yyKWcna2dpXq5xNdmqp6klp6ytHnCpaCpq12axbG70p6baA%3D%3D