Pornhub’s TikTok account removed, just months after being booted off Instagram

Pornhub’s official TikTok account has been taken down, just weeks after the porn site announced its arrival on the video sharing platform.

On November 23, 2022 Pornhub tweeted that it was on TikTok, linking an account with the username ‘ph.world’: a moniker likely chosen because it doesn’t explicitly state it’s a Pornhub or porn-related account. By mid-December the account was inactive.

“The Pornhub sex crime scene has now been kicked off TikTok! Instagram permanently shut down Pornhub’s 13 million follower account so the only social media site allowing Pornhub’s crime for profit website is Twitter,” Anti-Pornhub campaigner Laila Mickelwait tweeted in celebration of the takedown.

In September Pornhub’s Instagram account was removed from the photo-sharing platform, where it had 13.1 million followers and over 6,200 posts. Pornhub did not post porn on Instagram and there is no suggestion that the company attempted to do so on TikTok, with both social media platforms having stringent anti-nudity and explicit content rules.

Pornhub’s short-lived TikTok presence wasn’t as important a promotional tool as its Instagram account was, with the former shut down before it could gain traction. However, the ban highlighted how social media companies are continuing to crack down on explicit content as they come under more pressure from authorities and the public to prevent minors from accessing explicit material.

As Mickelwait mentioned, Twitter is the only major social media platform to allow porn. Pornhub has 3.6 million Twitter followers, and tends to retweet racy images of Pornhub models rather than posting full nudity or porn on the platform.

Meanwhile, over on Instagram…

Meanwhile, in early December Instagram launched a function updating users about whether they have been shadowbanned—‍the practice of limiting posts for wider exposure.

Instagram shadowbans users who break certain rules or post content that violates ‘recommendability’ guidelines, which could include content that is arguably sexually suggestive. 

You can access the function in Instagram by going to Profile > Menu > Settings > Account > Account status.

Read next: Mastercard and Visa cut ties with MindGeek’s massive ad network // OnlyBans is a game that mimics OnlyFans to teach about the strict limitations for sex workers on social media