At 28 years old, Stella Barey is redefining what it means to work in the adult content industry. Her platform, Hidden, represents a radical departure from established models like OnlyFans, offering Generation Z sex workers a sustainable alternative that prioritises their wellbeing and creative freedom.
The Burnout Behind the Scenes
When Barey entered the porn industry full-time in 2020, she didn't anticipate spending most days hunched over a desk. Known online as the "Anal Princess," she found herself overwhelmed by administrative tasks rather than creating the content she loved. "I'm at my happiest when I'm making a video like putting a strawberry in my butt and pushing it out," she admits. "Now I'm on calls all day and I have tech neck."
This disconnect between creative passion and business reality reflects a broader issue within the industry. By 2022, Barey had achieved remarkable success on OnlyFans, earning $285,000 in a single month and amassing 750,000 TikTok followers. However, maintaining this income required constant engagement and self-promotion on platforms increasingly hostile to adult content.
"You can't be spending your entire day making content, promoting it on socials, and also be on your account selling to fans 24/7," Barey explains. "It's unsustainable." Her experience mirrors that of many creators: 70% of her income came from time-consuming direct messages and custom content requests.
Building a Better Platform
Hidden emerged in 2023 when a Wharton business school graduate approached Barey about co-founding a porn site. She set clear terms: the platform must be designed by and for sex workers, promoting passive income in an industry where constant performance often determines survival.
Launched on 12 April 2024, Hidden features a sleek black interface reminiscent of Tumblr's golden era. The platform's name references the phone folder where people typically store their nudes, establishing immediate relatability with its target audience.
The platform distinguishes itself through several creator-friendly features:
- TikTok-style "For You" page that helps with content discovery
- Built-in store for selling existing clips and pay-per-view content
- Algorithm promoting older videos alongside new uploads
- Industry-low 18% commission compared to OnlyFans' 20%
- Relaxed content guidelines allowing public exposure and urine clips
Philadelphia-based creator Leila Lewis, who earns over $30,000 monthly on OnlyFans, immediately recognised Hidden's appeal. "Everyone is getting sick of the OnlyFans model. We're exhausted and burnt out," she says. "You can't do fisting or pee content on OnlyFans, which is the content my fans like best."
Navigating the Digital Landscape
Hidden arrives during a turbulent period for online adult content. Social media platforms have increasingly restricted sexual content since 2018, when federal law made websites liable for material linked to sex trafficking. The vague definition of "obscenity" gave platforms carte blanche to remove anything that made them nervous.
Barey experienced this censorship firsthand, going through 22 TikTok accounts, many with over 600,000 followers. Creators developed survival strategies including "algospeak" (using terms like "corn" for porn), VPNs, burner accounts, and private Discord servers to share information.
"We became outlaws," Barey says. "You have no clue what is allowed or not allowed until you get hit with a violation. It's all word of mouth."
Generation Z's Complicated Relationship with Porn
The platform speaks directly to Gen Z's conflicted relationship with pornography. Research shows that by age 13, most American teenagers have encountered porn, often accidentally. This generation has grown up with pornography not just available but algorithmically unavoidable.
Recent surveys reveal contradictory attitudes: nearly two-thirds of men under 25 support restricting access to online pornography, according to the American Survey Center's 2025 report. Simultaneously, Kinsey Institute research identifies Gen Z as the most kink-friendly generation on record.
Internet porn historian Noelle Perdue observes: "There is among younger generations this resentment towards the concept of mainstream pornography, but they are also genuinely curious about their sexuality."
This tension fuels demand for ethically produced content. Pornhub data shows searches for "ethical porn" rose 92% in 2024, while "authentic sex" climbed 43%, indicating a shift toward user-generated content over studio productions.
Future Challenges and Innovations
Hidden faces significant challenges beyond market competition. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 has called for outlawing pornography and imprisoning producers, while age-verification laws in the US and UK require users to upload government IDs before accessing adult content.
When Louisiana's Act 440 took effect in 2023, Pornhub reported an 80% traffic drop from the state. Such measures typically punish compliant platforms while driving users toward sketchier sites with pirated or nonconsensual material.
Barey's team is developing innovative solutions, including a takedown bot to scan for stolen content and AI tools for personalised clips while safeguarding performers' likeness. Most ambitiously, she aims for Hidden to handle its own payments, cutting out middlemen that drive up fees.
Currently, Hidden has registered over 113,000 users spending an average of $53 each, with more than 2,100 active creators—mostly Gen Z women.
"Tech companies have a long history of establishing financial sustainability by hosting explicit content and then suddenly abandoning it," Perdue notes. "It would be amazing to have this pattern disrupted by a company that is truly aligned with sex workers."
For Barey, Hidden represents more than business—it's a political statement about an industry's potential for reinvention. "Even though porn has been around forever, this version of online sex work is so brand new," she reflects. In an industry often dismissed as exploitative, Hidden offers a provocative argument: it doesn't have to be.
