“Everyone is a creator,” stated Amrapali (Ami) Gan, former CEO of OnlyFans, during an interview with Mashable. She emphasized how frequently individuals document concerts or their meals while dining out. Gan, alongside her co-founder, Kailey Magder, seeks to leverage the creator economy through Vylit, an emerging 18+ platform that enables users to cultivate an audience and monetize their posts, including topless material.

According to Vylit’s website, “Vylit is where sharing and earning collide, as thirst traps and everyday moments coexist.” Gan, who steered OnlyFans from December 2021 until July 2023, is convinced that the creator economy is in its infancy and will soon become commonplace for anyone to sell content and subscriptions based on their unique interests. “That’s genuinely the future,” she remarked.

Vylit is set to enter beta next month, with a wider launch anticipated for March or April 2026. Although Vylit permits topless content, it will differ from OnlyFans.

After departing from OnlyFans, Gan initiated a marketing firm called Hoxton Projects. She and Magder, both driven entrepreneurs, explored ideas for their own company. They pondered ventures such as a dog treat business or holistic cleaning supplies, but the concept for Vylit arose from repeated inquiries for “the next OnlyFans” and their dissatisfaction with contemporary social media platforms.

“It fills the gap between conventional platforms like Instagram and TikTok and adult creator platforms,” Gan mentioned. Vylit provides an 18+ platform for content monetization, community building, and liberated self-expression.

Nonetheless, there are restrictions. “We’re going to free the nipple, but not the rest,” Gan clarified, indicating that only topless material is permitted. No genitalia or overtly explicit content is allowed. Gan was in charge of marketing at OnlyFans during its unsuccessful attempt to prohibit explicit content in August 2021, a move that was reversed following backlash.

While X and Bluesky permit adult content, Meta’s platforms (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok do not. Vylit’s strategy is designed to attract a mass market audience. “You can turn on HBO and see all kinds of stuff, so it’s more acceptable while keeping broader appeal,” Gan mentioned, steering clear of explicit content first thing in the morning.

“The future of social media is 18 and over,” Gan asserted. An increasing number of legislatures are enacting age-verification laws, requiring personal information like government IDs or biometric scans. This impacts both explicit and non-explicit sites, with platforms like Spotify and YouTube adopting age-verification measures. Experts in free speech and internet matters caution that heightened age verification could fundamentally alter the internet.

At Vylit, users will be subjected to age verification through a facial age assessment. Content uploaders are required to present identification. AI will assess all content before it goes live, with flagged material reviewed by human moderators. Vylit collaborates with Unitary AI for content oversight.

AI also influences the creator tools available on the platform. Vylit provides image-generation features, enabling creators to develop an “AI twin” for content creation. An AI chat function allows fans to engage with the creator or their AI counterpart, with clarity about whom they are conversing with.

Vylit is in the process of creating search and discovery tools to connect users with creators based on aesthetic tastes, hobbies, and interests, nurturing a community and engagement that goes beyond mere appearance. OnlyFans lacks a search functionality, prompting users to craft their own.

Gan and Magder crafted Vylit with the needs of creators at heart. The number of creator jobs has surged, and the creator economy is projected to hit $480 billion by 2027. Vylit aspires to be a platform for all, allowing users to foster a community and monetize content, in contrast to platforms that concentrate on top creators.

Magder highlighted that existing platforms often expect creators to promote themselves elsewhere, while Vylit enables users to build an audience right within the platform. Vylit tackles the obstacles that hinder individuals from becoming creators, allowing creators of any scale to thrive.

Vylit provides monetization tools such as subscriptions, pay-per-view content, and tips. Magder mentioned that they contemplated creator challenges to reverse engineer the platform for everyday creators, regardless of their experience level.

Currently, Vylit operates on an invite-only basis, which means that most creators will observe its development from a distance.