Strengthening transparency, mental health support, and community guidelines in 2025

March 25, 2025

The Policy Team’s first 2025 updates focus on transparency, creator well-being, and community safety. In this installment of the Creator Policy Engagement Program (CPEP), we’re excited to share:

The release of Patreon’s second annual Transparency Report, detailing our approach to Trust & Safety, policy enforcement, and platform integrity.
The launch of Patreon’s Mental Health & Wellness Resource Hub, developed with expert support from Crisis Text Line and shaped by creator feedback.
Our latest policy updates, including those we proposed last December for creator input, have been finalized and are now live. Read on for more.

Here’s what’s new and how to share your thoughts.

The 2025 Patreon Transparency Report

Patreon’s second annual Transparency Report covers our Trust & Safety efforts from January 1 to December 31, 2024, providing insights into policy enforcement, legal requests, and platform safety. It builds on last year’s inaugural report, which covered Trust & Safety efforts in 2023.

What’s in the report?

This year’s report includes:

How Patreon enforces our Community Guidelines to maintain a safe platform.
A detailed breakdown of enforcement actions—including content-level enforcement, account suspensions, and account removals—organized by policy area.
An explanation of how we handle moderation decisions, including how potential violations are identified and addressed.
Insights into government, copyright, and privacy-related requests, including compliance data and trends.

We are committed to proportional, fair, and transparent enforcement. We encourage all creators and fans to explore the report to better understand our approach to Trust & Safety.

Read the full 2025 Transparency Report here.

Introducing Patreon’s Mental Health & Wellness Resource Hub

Creators have made it clear: mental health matters. Whether it’s burnout, financial stress, or the challenge of building deep fan connections, creative work comes with unique pressures. That’s why we’re launching Patreon’s Mental Health & Wellness Resource Hub—a dedicated space to support creator well-being, developed in collaboration with Crisis Text Line.

What’s in the hub?

The hub provides expert-backed resources on:

Mental Health & Emotional Well-being – Managing stress and burnout, grief, loneliness, and self-care as a creator.
Digital Safety & Online Well-being – Navigating cyberbullying, digital detox strategies, doomscrolling, and teen safety online.
Financial & Career Resilience – Coping with financial uncertainty, balancing creativity with work and relationships.
Community & Relationship Building – Building support networks, navigating conflict, and juggling parenthood and creativity.
Creative Inspiration & Identity – Finding joy through creativity and representation in media.

Explore Patreon’s Mental Health & Wellness Resource Hub here.

Why mental health matters for creators

Recent State of Create research highlights the impact of mental health challenges on creators:

78% say burnout affects their motivation to create.
75% feel platforms punish them for not posting constantly.
81% want a more direct connection with their fans.

Creators also report feeling isolated; pushed to cover trends or viral "content" instead of what they're passionate about, and struggling to balance creativity, financial stability, and well-being. These insights reinforce why accessible mental health support is essential—and why we built this hub. If there are additional resources you'd like to see, let us know at [email protected].

Community Guidelines updates: refinements based on creator feedback now live

At the end of 2024, we shared a set of proposed Community Guidelines updates with creators and invited feedback. Informed by that input, we’ve now finalized these updates, ensuring they reflect creator needs while maintaining a safe and sustainable platform. Some of the changes include:

What’s new?

New Commerce Guidelines—Clearer rules on what can be sold on Patreon to ensure compliance with global standards.
Community Guidelines updates to Harmful Acts, Works Dealing with Illegal or Regulated Activities, Sexually Gratifying Works, Off-Patreon Activities, and more). Note that we also published a Help Center article with additional detail on the subject of off-Patreon activities to give creators additional clarity.
Refund policy— Updated guidelines for how fans who have made purchases through Patreon can seek refunds and how creators should accommodate refund requests.

Share your feedback

Patreon is committed to building a safer, more transparent, and more supportive platform for all creators. Stay tuned for additional developments from the Policy Team in the coming months.

In the meantime, we want to hear from you! If you have thoughts on Patreon’s transparency efforts, mental health initiatives, or the latest policy updates, let us know. Have feedback or questions? Email us anytime at [email protected].

Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to a creative, safe, and inspiring 2025—we can’t wait to see what you build!