The caption button is styled as a circular element, 40 pixels in both height and width, positioned at the bottom right of the screen with a 10-pixel margin. It has a semi-transparent dark background and a high z-index to ensure it stays on top of other content. For different screen sizes, its right position adjusts to center it relative to varying content widths, accounting for the scrollbar if present.
Additionally, the Guardian Headline Full font family is defined with multiple weights and styles (light, regular, medium, semibold, each in normal and italic), sourced from the Guardian’s assets in WOFF2, WOFF, and TTF formats for broad browser compatibility.@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Titlepiece’;
src: url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
.Scrolly-header.svelte-ok2wri {
grid-area: header;
height: 100vh;
width: 100vw;
overflow: clip;
position: relative;
background-color: #121212;
margin-bottom: 20px;
margin-left: -10px;
padding: 0;
}
@media (min-width: 30em) {
.Scrolly-header.svelte-ok2wri {
margin-left: -20px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.Scrolly-header.svelte-ok2wri {
margin-left: calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px);
padding: 0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);
}
}
@media (min-width: 61.25em) {
.Scrolly-header.svelte-ok2wri {
margin-left: calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px);
}
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.Scrolly-header.svelte-ok2wri {
margin-left: calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px);
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.Scrolly-header.svelte-ok2wri {
margin-left: calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px);
}
}The Scrolly-header element has padding that adjusts based on the viewport width, starting from 0 and increasing to center content within a maximum width of 980px, 1140px, or 1300px for larger screens, accounting for the scrollbar width.
On medium screens and above, the header’s height is set to 90% of the viewport height, and vertical lines are added on the left and right sides, positioned to align with the content area’s edges, which vary with screen size.
The image wrapper is sticky, covering the full viewport initially, and scales down to fixed widths (740px, 980px, 1140px, or 1300px) on larger screens, with a reduced opacity for users who prefer less motion.
The image within the wrapper is scaled up slightly by default and centers the background, reverting to no scaling for reduced motion preferences, and adjusts its width responsively.
The text container is absolutely positioned, spans the full viewport height, and centers its content with responsive padding that matches the header’s layout, also adjusting to 90% viewport height on medium screens and up.For screens wider than 71.25em, the text container within the Scrolly-header adjusts its padding to center content with a maximum width of 800px, accounting for the scrollbar.
The text wrapper in the header starts transparent, spans the full viewport width, and centers its content with a bottom padding of 80px. Initially, it’s hidden and shifted down by 30%, but it fades in and moves up over half a second. If motion reduction is preferred, it appears immediately without animation.
On medium screens (46.25em and up), the wrapper’s width becomes 740px, and on larger screens (61.25em and up), it narrows to 640px.
Both the headline and standfirst text use a specific font family, are white with a shadow for readability, and have balanced text wrapping. They include a blurred dark background effect for contrast. The headline is larger and bolder, while the standfirst is lighter and appears below it with a top margin.
At medium screen sizes, the text sizes increase, and margins adjust for better layout. On larger screens, margins are reduced slightly.
When animated, the image wrapper becomes more opaque, and the text wrapper becomes fully visible and centered. On iOS and Android, the header aligns to the left without margin.
Font faces for Guardian Headline Full are defined in light, light italic, and regular weights, sourced from specific URLs in woff2, woff, and ttf formats.The Guardian website uses a custom font called “Guardian Headline Full” for its headlines. This font comes in various styles and weights, including regular, italic, medium, semi-bold, bold, and black, each available in multiple file formats like WOFF2, WOFF, and TrueType for compatibility across different browsers.@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Titlepiece’;
src: url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2’) format(‘woff2’),
url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff’) format(‘woff’),
url(‘https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf’) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive {
margin-left: 160px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive {
margin-left: 240px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom {
max-width: 620px;
}
@media (max-width: 46.24em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom {
max-width: 100%;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase {
margin-left: 0;
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase {
max-width: 620px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase {
max-width: 860px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
max-width: 1100px;
}
@media (max-width: 46.24em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
width: calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width));
position: relative;
left: 50%;
right: 50%;
margin-left: calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width)) !important;
margin-right: calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width)) !important;
}
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
transform: translate(-20px);
width: calc(100% + 60px);
}
}
@media (max-width: 71.24em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
}
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
transform: translate(0);
width: auto;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
max-width: 1260px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive p,
.content__main-column–interactive ul {
max-width: 620px;
}
.content__main-column–interactive:before {
position: absolute;
top: 0;
height: calc(100% + 15px);
min-height: 100px;
content: “”;
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive:before {
border-left: 1px solid #dcdcdc;
z-index: -1;
left: -10px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive:before {
border-left: 1px solid #dcdcdc;
left: -11px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom {
margin-top: 0;
margin-bottom: 0;
padding-bottom: 12px;
padding-top: 12px;
}
.content__main-column–interactive p + .element-atom {
padding-top: 0;
padding-bottom: 0;
margin-top: 12px;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-inline {
max-width: 620px;
}
@media (scripting: enabled) {
:root .content–interactive,
:root #article-header > div,
:root #feature-header > div,
:root #article-header > h1,
:root #feature-header > h1 {
opacity: 0;
}
:root.interactive-loaded .content–interactive,
:root.interactive-loaded #article-header > div,
:root.interactive-loaded #feature-header > div,
:root.interactive-loaded #article-header > h1,
:root.interactive-loaded #feature-header > h1 {
opacity: 1;
transition: opacity 0.2s ease;
}
}
nav + section {
display: none;
}
nav + aside {
display: none;
}
aside + section {
display: none;
}
header {
z-index: 3;
}
#maincontent {
margin-top: 0;
}
[data-gu-name=lines] {
display: none;
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
[data-gu-name=lines] {
display: block;
}
}
.content–interactive-grid {
position: relative;
grid-template-areas: “title” “header” “media” “media” “lines” “meta” “body”;
grid-template-rows: [title-start header-start media-start] auto [title-end header-end lines-start media-end] auto [lines-end meta-start] auto [meta-end standfirst-start] auto [body-start] auto [body-end];
}
.content–interactive-grid #headline,
.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=headline],
.content–interactive-grid .headline {
/ Styles for headlines in interactive grid layout /
}For elements with the class “content–interactive-grid”, hide the standfirst section and its related components.
Set the article header, title, and main media elements to have a z-index of 10 and adjust their height to fit their content. Style links within the article header and title with white text and a shadow effect, removing hover text decoration on larger screens. Hide labels within these sections.
Adjust the main media’s alignment, margins, and width across different screen sizes, ensuring it aligns to the end and has responsive padding. On larger screens, display it as a flex container aligned to the end.
Style the figure caption with a dark background, position it above the bottom edge, and set its dimensions and padding. Hide it when it has the “hidden” class, and modify the span inside to have gray text without SVG icons.
Position the meta information and keylines absolutely on larger screens, placing them to the left with specific widths and top offsets.
For standfirst links, set the font family, size, and weight, with adjusted padding on larger screens.
Apply a drop cap style to the first letter of paragraphs following specific figure elements, excluding those with emphasis tags or following such paragraphs.This CSS code defines styles for a responsive web layout, particularly for interactive grid content and immersive elements. It includes rules for floating initial letters with large uppercase styling, adjusting element heights and margins, and handling captions and media in different screen sizes. The code also specifies styles for iOS and Android devices, such as hiding certain elements, customizing caption containers with background colors and fonts, and controlling the display of article headers and kickers on mobile platforms. Media queries ensure proper adaptation across various viewport widths.For iOS and Android devices, the following styles apply:
– In article, feature, and comment headers, the main media element is hidden (height set to 0), and its captions are not displayed.
– Within article, feature, and comment bodies, specific atom elements and their adjacent image figures are hidden with no margin or padding, and their inner content and captions are also hidden.
– The first letter of a paragraph following an emphasized paragraph after an image is styled as a large, uppercase drop cap with specific font size, line height, and spacing.
– In standfirst links, list item markers are removed, and links are styled with a custom font, bold weight, and red color, which changes to a different red in dark mode.
– Links in paragraphs with emphasis following a figure are styled in red without underlines.This text appears to be CSS code for styling web content, specifically for a publication like The Guardian. It defines font styles, colors, and layout adjustments for different devices and color schemes. The code includes rules for link colors in dark mode and custom drop caps for paragraphs following images. It also specifies custom font files for various weights and styles of the “Guardian Headline Full” font family.This text defines font styles for the Guardian Headline Full and Guardian Titlepiece fonts, specifying their sources and properties. It also includes a CSS rule for a header element with specific styling.This CSS code defines styles for a scrollable header component with a dark background. It adjusts the header’s margins, padding, and dimensions across different screen sizes, starting from 30em wide up to 81.25em. The header includes an image wrapper that remains fixed at the top of the viewport, with the image itself centered and scaled slightly larger by default. For users who prefer reduced motion, the image scaling is removed, and the wrapper’s opacity is lowered. On medium and larger screens, vertical lines are added on both sides of the header, and the width of the image wrapper increases progressively with the viewport size.For screens wider than 81.25em, the image in the Scrolly-header adjusts to 1300px wide.
The text container is positioned absolutely at the top left, spanning the full viewport height with a minimum height of 410px, and is layered on top. Its horizontal padding changes based on screen size to center content within specified widths, starting from 740px up to 1300px, accounting for scrollbar width. On medium and larger screens, the container height reduces to 90% of the viewport height.
Text within the container is centered, initially hidden and shifted down, then fades in and moves up on scroll. For users who prefer reduced motion, the text is immediately visible without animation. The text width adapts from full screen to fixed widths (740px or 640px) on larger screens, with bottom padding for spacing.
Headlines and standfirst text use a specific font family, are white with a shadow for readability, and have a blurred dark background for contrast. Font sizes and margins increase on medium screens, and the headline is bold with the standfirst being lighter.
When animated, the image dims slightly and scales up, while the text becomes fully visible and moves to its original position. On iOS and Android, the header aligns to the left edge.
A caption button appears as a small, dark circle in the bottom right corner on small screens, and its position adjusts to stay within the content area on wider screens, centered relative to the content width minus scrollbar.@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
#caption-button.svelte-yvyjbz {
right: calc((100vw – 1130px – var(–scrollbar-width-positive, 0px)) / 2);
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
#caption-button.svelte-yvyjbz {
right: calc((100vw – 1290px – var(–scrollbar-width-positive, 0px)) / 2);
}
}
View image in fullscreen
A collection of Polaroids from Hidden’s September event. Illustration: Guardian Design/Photos courtesy of Stella Barey
Stella Barey has an hour for lunch. At 1:30 PM, she loads her three Belgian Malinois into her beat-up Tacoma and drives to a secluded Los Angeles hiking trail. There, she quickly eats a tapioca pudding and puts on her sneakers. After checking that no one is around, she pulls down her brown sweatpants and bares her bottom for the camera. Next, she removes her underwear. Her neatly groomed pubic hair is visible above the rocks as she urinates on the trail. Every mile she walks, she records another video: a quick flash, a mooning, or inserting a finger.
When Barey decided in 2020 to pursue porn full-time, she didn’t expect that at 28, she’d spend most of her time bent over a desk—not in an enjoyable way—creating flowcharts, scheduling Zoom calls, and sending pitch decks. “I’m happiest when I’m making a video, like putting a strawberry in my butt and pushing it out,” she says. “Now I’m on calls all day and I have tech neck.” Known online as the “Anal Princess,” with large, wide-eyed looks and a pout reminiscent of an American Girl doll, she’s willing to try anything once—even the title “tech founder.”
Barey aims to shake up the porn industry with Hidden, a site designed to reduce creator burnout and bring back the enjoyment of making and viewing adult content. Unlike OnlyFans, Hidden allows her to post public exposure and urination clips from her daily lunchtime hikes.
“You can’t spend your whole day making content and promoting it on social media. It’s unsustainable,” says Barey.
Hidden launches at a time of uncertainty for porn, especially among Gen Z. They are both skeptical of it and raised on it, with more of them now creating content themselves. The platform reflects the DIY ethos of Barey’s generation and addresses their mixed feelings about big tech, sex work, and earning a living online. “Ultimately, Hidden is more than just porn,” Barey explains. “It’s a political statement”—and one of the few sex-tech companies founded by sex workers that hosts adult content today.
Born in San Juan and raised by a gynecologist mother, Barey has always been intensely curious about her body. At NYU, she created her own major in ethical healthcare systems and policy, then completed pre-med requirements for gynecology at UCLA. There, she was drawn to the city’s adult scene: sex parties, industry events, and late-night friendships with porn performers. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, stuck in her apartment and overwhelmed with schoolwork, she began experimenting with anal sex with her then-boyfriend and sharing her experiences in candid TikTok stories. “Back then, TikTok felt like a hidden corner of the internet,” she recalls.
Her third video went viral. Men in the comments asked for her OnlyFans, while women wanted more stories. By 2021, Barey was providing both. Her OnlyFans content, featuring bikini shots and nude selfies, earned over $40,000 a month—enough to make medical school seem optional. She dropped out, thinking she could always return to medicine later. On TikTok, she became a popular figure among Gen Z women, discussing topics like vaginal color, STD testing, treating bacterial vaginosis, using menstrual sponges, and the pleasures of anal sex, often referencing thinkers like Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud, and Marquis de Sade.
“I was risking my reputation to talk about sex…””I discuss sexual health and topics that 99% of girls my age are also thinking about, without any stigma,” Barey says. (Having her mom, a gynecologist, on speed dial certainly helped.) By 2022, she had gained 750,000 TikTok followers and earned $285,000 in a single month on OnlyFans.
But her success was short-lived. In 2018, a federal law had made websites legally responsible for hosting material connected to sex trafficking. Fearing this law and increasing pressure from banks, advertisers, and religious lobbying groups, Instagram and TikTok started issuing “community violations” for even the slightest hint of sexual content. The term “obscenity,” which had long been the legal standard for what’s considered “too sexual,” was intentionally left undefined, giving these platforms free rein to remove anything that made them uneasy. Adult content creators were shadowbanned, had their accounts deleted, and lost their ability to earn money without warning. Yet, they couldn’t afford to leave these mainstream platforms entirely—that’s where they promoted their content and built their fan bases.
To adapt, they developed their own survival tactics online. They used “algospeak” to get around content guidelines (like saying “corn” for porn, “seggs” for sex, or “accountant” for sex worker), employed VPNs and burner accounts to avoid detection, and joined private Discord servers to share information. “We became outlaws,” Barey remarks. “You never know what’s allowed until you’re hit with a violation. It’s all based on word of mouth.”
By the end of 2022, Barey had gone through 22 TikTok accounts, many with over 600,000 followers, buying burner phones to start over each time she was banned from the platform.
With mainstream sites imposing strict limits, sex workers looked for new places to share adult content, and OnlyFans became the most popular choice. While platforms like Pornhub make money through ads and streaming, OnlyFans monetizes personal connections, allowing creators to sell directly to their fans. By 2024, more than 4.6 million creators were earning $7.2 billion from subscribers. However, OnlyFans has its own issues. The platform is known for lacking tools that support creators. Unlike Instagram or TikTok, there’s no “explore” page or discovery feed; performers must find their audience entirely on their own, which means constantly promoting themselves on sites that are often hostile toward them. “People don’t realize that most of these girls don’t want to be on social media—they just want to make porn,” Barey explains.
Once fans find a creator’s page, monthly subscriptions make up only a small part of potential earnings. The real money comes from labor-intensive interactions, such as selling custom videos, sexts, and one-on-one messaging. At one point, 70% of Barey’s income came from these direct messages. “You can’t spend your whole day creating content, promoting it on social media, and also be on your account selling to fans 24/7,” she says. “It’s unsustainable.”
Leila Lewis adds, “Everyone is getting sick of the OnlyFans model. We’re exhausted and burnt out.”
The idea for Hidden emerged in 2023 when a high school friend and Wharton business school graduate approached Barey about co-founding a porn site. Barey set clear terms: the platform had to be designed by and for sex workers, focusing on passive income in an industry where constant effort is often necessary just to survive. The platform launched on April 12 with a sleek black interface and artistic branding. Emphasizing amateur content, it brings back the Tumblr-era cam girl aesthetic—a time many creators remember fondly. (The name “Hidden” refers to the phone folder where people often store their private photos.)
After clicking “18+,” users are taken to a TikTok-style “For You” page that shows clips tailored to their preferences. Scrolling through videos and photos, they can find everything from a girl-next-door type smiling in her pajamas to a performer in more explicit poses.Scrolling through Hidden feels like browsing any social media feed, except the videos might feature someone riding a lubricated dildo. If you see a creator you like, a quick swipe to their profile often reveals the first paywall—a small fee to access their full feed, view explicit posts, or send a message.
Barey is particularly enthusiastic about how Hidden, unlike OnlyFans, helps creators earn money without constantly filming new content or messaging fans. The site’s algorithm promotes both old and new videos, and each profile includes a built-in store where fans can purchase clips and pay-per-view posts. This means content creators have already produced is now working for them in the background.
Barey admits that none of Hidden’s features are entirely new. The scrolling feed is similar to RedGifs, the store resembles ManyVids, and the chargeback protections—popular with creators for making it harder for customers to dispute charges and get refunds—are borrowed from SextPanther. However, these features are all consolidated on Hidden, which also takes the smallest cut in the industry: 18% of creators’ earnings, compared to OnlyFans’ 20%.
For Leila Lewis, a 28-year-old creator from Philadelphia who earns over $30,000 a month on OnlyFans, the appeal was immediate. “Everyone is getting sick of the OnlyFans model. We’re exhausted and burnt out,” she says. After consulting with Barey, Lewis felt that Hidden was a return to the golden days, reigniting her excitement for the work. “You can’t do fisting or pee content on OnlyFans,” she explains, noting that such content is popular with her fans but prohibited on the more cautious platform. “That’s why I love Hidden, because they just let you do pretty much anything.”
Barey leads a 40-person software team, a product designer, and six content moderators, with more features in development. She and her team are creating a takedown bot to scan the internet for leaked and stolen content with a single click. They are also experimenting with AI tools that would allow fans to request personalized clips generated from a performer’s likeness—such as “me in a red dress on a plane”—while protecting creators’ ownership of their image from sites that sell unauthorized AI versions. Barey even aims for Hidden to handle its own payments instead of relying on third-party processors, a rare move in the adult industry that could reduce fees. She says if she could buy a bank outright, creators might one day keep almost all of their earnings.
Ultimately, Barey insists that sex workers will shape Hidden’s future. “I have a list of thousands of things, but if I’m hearing from the girls that they really want live streaming, I’m going to prioritize that.” Meanwhile, her core team of Gen Z assistants—Drew, Chloe, and Naomi, who once managed her OnlyFans and now act as her “angels”—provide input on everything from marketing strategy to the final edit of her sex tapes. Their experience with porn sites and social media has given them an instinct for what will resonate.
So far, Hidden has registered over 113,000 users who spend an average of $53 each and has enrolled more than 2,100 active creators, most of whom are Gen Z women.
At the same time, public sentiment toward porn is declining. This is partly due to the rise of “rage bait” porn—deliberately provocative content that first made Barey go viral when her TikTok about sleeping with her father’s fifty-something best friend broke the internet. Gen Z creators like Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips, whose exhibitionist gangbang spectacles are designed to provoke outrage, thrive in an ecosystem distorted by burnout, censorship, algorithmic changes, repetitive content, and audiences with ever-shortening attention spans. Critics argue that this shows the industry has lost its way.
The backlash also reflects broader cultural anxieties about sex, gender, and power.By the age of 13, most teenagers in the United States have already come across pornography, often unintentionally. Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with porn not just accessible but ever-present and unavoidable due to algorithms.
A generation of ‘virgins’ is leading America’s next sexual revolution. Read more.
The American Survey Center’s 2025 report revealed that nearly two-thirds of men under 25 now support making online pornography harder to access—a significant rise compared to previous generations. This change may be linked to growing unease with porn’s omnipresence and a broader conservative shift among young people, as seen in trends like “NoFap” and abstinence spreading on TikTok. At the same time, feminist critics, including those from Gen Z, are highlighting the harmful effects of certain porn, such as normalized choking and transactional “porn-script” sex influencing dating culture.
Interestingly, survey data indicates that Gen Z is having less sex than earlier generations, pointing to a more cautious group. Yet, new research from the Kinsey Institute finds that Gen Z is the most open to kinks on record.
Internet porn historian Noelle Perdue argues that these contradictions are the real story. “Younger generations feel resentment toward mainstream pornography,” she says, “but they’re also genuinely curious about their sexuality.” She adds that Gen Z is open to ethically produced porn that aligns with their values and desires. Recent data from Pornhub shows a cultural shift toward authenticity in porn: searches for “ethical porn” rose 92% in 2024, while “authentic sex” increased by 43%, indicating a growing preference for user-generated and amateur content over scripted studio productions that can seem unrealistic.
“Ethical porn,” a recent industry buzzword, generally refers to erotic content that is produced transparently and legally, with fair pay and mutual pleasure in mind. Feminist porn creators like Erika Lust are often seen as the gold standard. In this sense, platforms like Hidden can reasonably claim to be ethical, as their content is self-filmed by age-verified performers who own their work and keep most of their earnings. However, without being present during filming, it’s impossible to be entirely sure what is or isn’t ethical.
Through her TikTok presence and an in-person erotic philosophy reading series she started last February, Barey has attracted a wide circle of college-aged women. “I know there’s a rise in conservatism among Gen Z, but I see this generation as the most accepting of porn yet,” she says. “They’re very supportive of sex work and view it as a legitimate job.”
Noelle Perdue notes, “Tech companies have a long history of building financial stability by hosting explicit content and then suddenly abandoning it.”
By the time young people figure out what they want—or don’t want—from porn, it might not matter. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 has openly called for banning pornography and imprisoning its producers, showing a right-wing push for a national industry ban. A more immediate threat comes from new age-verification laws in the U.S. and U.K. that require users to upload government IDs or biometric data to access porn. Lawmakers present these as child-protection measures, but in practice, they penalize compliant platforms and reduce sex workers’ income—especially affecting queer and trans creators who operate on thin margins. When Louisiana’s Act 440 took effect in 2023, Pornhub saw an 80% drop in traffic from the state, while VPN searches surged. As Perdue points out, minors will always find adult content; these laws mainly punish platforms like Hidden, OnlyFans, and Pornhub, driving users to riskier sites full of pirated or non-Consensual material.
Currently, porn still makes up over a third of all internet data transfers. The future of the industry may hinge on creators taking charge of the field they helped build. “Tech companies have a history of building financial stability by hosting explicit content, only to suddenly drop it,” Perdue notes. “It would be remarkable to see this cycle broken by a company that genuinely supports sex workers, rather than viewing adult content merely as a way to make money.”
As Barey’s pickup truck speeds down the freeway, leaving the hiking trail behind, three dogs pant out of open windows. She’ll be late for her 2:30 pm call, a meeting with her chief technology officer to discuss Hidden’s upcoming software update. With no signal in this area, she can enjoy a few more minutes in her favorite role—just another eager person online with a camera full of nude photos.
“Even though porn has existed for ages, this form of online sex work is incredibly new,” Barey remarks. In this sense, Hidden might be more of a statement than a mere product—a challenge to the idea that an industry often dismissed as low-quality can’t be reinvented.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Stella Bareys new adult platform designed to be clear concise and in a natural tone
General Beginner Questions
1 What is Stella Bareys new platform
Its a new adult content platform created by former OnlyFans creator Stella Barey designed specifically to offer Gen Z sex workers a healthier worklife balance and better pay
2 How is it different from OnlyFans
The main differences are a higher revenue share for creators builtin features to prevent burnout and a focus on community support rather than constant highpressure content creation
3 Who is this platform for
Its primarily for Gen Z creators and sex workers who feel overwhelmed by the demands of existing platforms and are looking for a more sustainable way to run their business
4 What does better worklife balance mean for a sex worker
It means having control over your work hours not feeling pressured to be online 247 and using tools that help you separate your work from your personal life to avoid burnout
5 Is it safe and secure
The platform promises a strong focus on security including better protection against content leaks and unauthorized sharing though specific details on the technology used are still emerging
Benefits Features
6 Whats the biggest benefit for creators
A significantly higher percentage of earnings goes directly to the creator and the platform is designed with mental health and sustainability in mind from the ground up
7 What kind of tools does it offer to prevent burnout
Features like automated messaging the ability to preschedule content and interactions and settings to limit when you are available to subscribers
8 Does it help with marketing and growing an audience
While the core focus is on the creators wellbeing it aims to foster a more supportive community However creators will still be largely responsible for bringing their own audience to the platform at least initially
Common Concerns Problems
9 What are the potential downsides or risks
As a new platform it may have a smaller initial user base than established sites Theres also the risk that any new tech platform could face payment processing issues or other growing pains
10 Will it have the same payment processing problems as OnlyFans
The platform is being built with these
