Harnessing OSINT to Counter the Misuse of Adult Content
With 25% of daily internet searches involving adult content, it can’t be denied that online pornography makes up a major aspect of consumption across the internet. While a large proportion of the activities surrounding such content falls within the law, the sphere has also seen the rise of a number of malicious practices—cyberstalking, revenge porn, and sextortion, to name a few—that can be harmful to individuals and need to be countered.
As much of this unsavoury activity occupies or spills into open sources, OSINT is proving to be a valuable weapon in investigating the various misuses of adult content. So we’re taking a look at the current landscape of online pornography, some ways in which such content is unlawfully being used, and how OSINT tools and techniques can help identify malicious actors and protect individuals from exploitation and harm.
Where OSINT Meets Online Pornography
Online pornography is an expanding—and lucrative—field. As new (and enticing) revenue models and options emerge, adult content is being tapped as an increasingly lucrative sphere, not just for the content creators themselves, but also for the platforms that host it all. As a case in point, the user-generated (and largely sex-oriented) content platform OnlyFans generated a colossal revenue of $6.3B in 2024—up from a comparatively meagre $300M just three years earlier.
With adult content increasingly being created by day-to-day folk, and shared on an expanding range of platforms including social media-style offerings, the relevance of OSINT as an investigative tool in this sphere is becoming ever more potent. After all, these sites and platforms fall within the bracket of open-source data, and as such, OSINT approaches are proving extremely useful when it comes to tracking, analyzing, and combating harmful activities.
Adult Website Categories
Adult sites come in all shapes and sizes, but can be broadly grouped into three types:
Free Porn Websites. These platforms offer users free access to vast libraries of adult content. Popular examples include Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX and YouPorn—all of which generate massive amounts of traffic. While mainly monetized through ads, many also incentivize users to create accounts by offering additional features for members, such as higher video quality and exclusive content.
Paid Adult Websites. These are subscription- or one-time payment-based platforms that offer high-quality videos, exclusive content, and greater control over content preferences. Specialized niche websites catering to specific tastes are common examples, offering a more tailored experience than free sites. While more controlled, they are not immune to issues like data breaches or non-consensual sharing.
User-Generated Content Platforms. These include sites like OnlyFans, Fansly, Patreon, and AdmireMe, which allow users to upload explicit or semi-explicit content, typically for a fee. Such platforms saw a surge in popularity following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide creators with a way to monetize their adult content directly.
Crimes Associated with Adult Content
While these platforms provide opportunities for content creators to earn money, they also pose a range of risks relating to the mishandling of content, identity theft, and harassment:
Non-Consensual Sharing. This is the unauthorized distribution of explicit private material. A crime under many jurisdictions, it’s often referred to as “revenge porn” when conducted as an act of spite following a break-up.
Sextortion. This is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to release intimate material unless a ransom is paid. Perpetrators often use video chats or social media platforms to trick victims into sharing explicit content, later demanding money to keep the material private.
Cyberstalking. This refers to obsessive behaviour toward an individual, often targeting adult content creators. Stalkers may gather personal data to harass or intimidate victims, using social media and adult websites to track them.
These crimes highlight the darker side of the adult content industry, emphasizing the critical need for OSINT-driven investigations.
How OSINT Can Help Combat Adult Content-Related Crimes
The above activities illustrate a vindictive and exploitative aspect of the adult content world, underlining the need for effective responses and countermeasures—something that, thankfully, open-source intelligence tools and techniques can provide. Here are some case-based examples of how:
Example 1: Revenge Porn
The Situation. Someone becomes aware that an explicit video involving themselves has appeared on a porn site. They remember shooting the video with an ex-partner and it has been uploaded without the victim’s consent.
How OSINT Can Help. The victim can provide OSINT data (relevant social media profiles etc.) on the suspect, then investigators can apply username and facial recognition searches to identify the subject across a range of platforms and take steps to remove the content from other websites. Additionally, tools like Google Reverse Image Search or video frame identification can help investigators track the video across the internet and ensure thorough removal.
Example 2: Cyberstalking
The Situation. An adult content creator starts being harassed by an obsessive subscriber on a platform such as OnlyFans. The harassment involves aggressive messages and attempts to glean personal information, making the creator feel threatened.
How OSINT Can Help. Investigators can apply OSINT methods to trace the stalker's activities online, starting with their profiles on adult platforms then expanding into regular social media and other websites. By cross-checking usernames, law enforcement can deanonymize, locate, and profile the stalker, enabling them to effectively intervene.
OSINT Tools for Investigating Adult Content Crimes
The good news is that there are many specialist tools for gathering data around content and generating quality, actionable intelligence. These include:
ScrapHub: A scraping tool that collects a range of data from websites such as Pornhub, allowing investigators to analyze user data and activities from the platform.
XvideoScraper: This tool’s ability to extract video data and metadata from sites like XVideos can be crucial in tracking down specific videos and gathering information on uploaders.
Social Media Analysis Tools. Advanced OSINT data analysis platforms such as SL Crimewall offer a plethora of tools that are highly effective in deanonymizing and profiling users. Advanced tools such as facial recognition can help investigators find the specific piece of media they need from vast amounts of posted content, while alias searches can be instrumental in elaborating a suspect’s digital footprint and establishing real-world identities.
The Takeaway
Whether it’s fighting revenge porn, tracking down cyberstalkers, or addressing sextortion, open-source intelligence tools offer effective ways to protect victims and identify wrongdoers. By harnessing publicly available data, law enforcement personnel and OSINT specialists can work together to combat these crimes and ensure a safer online environment for everyone.
If you want to learn more about how to use OSINT to take your investigations to the next step, we’d be happy to show you how. Simply fill out a short contact form below, and we will schedule a personalized demonstration for you. During the call, we'll analyze your current goals and discuss how to resolve them with OSINT methods.
