Year end 2025 policy updates & livestream with Patreon’s Policy Team

December 4, 2025

Be part of the conversation shaping Patreon’s policy updates.

As part of Patreon’s Creator Policy Engagement Program (CPEP), we share proposed updates to our platform guidelines early and gather input directly from creators to help refine and improve them.

Patreon Connect livestream with the Policy Team

Join members of Patreon’s Policy Team, including our VP of Trust & Safety Eric Han, for a live policy discussion and Q&A on Thursday, December 11, from 12-1 p.m. EST (9-10 am PST // 5-6 pm GMT).

RSVP here to attend live or receive the recording afterward.

This event will take place in English.

Proposed guidelines updates for creator feedback

The proposals below reinforce our commitment to keeping Patreon safe and welcoming. We continue to update our guidelines in tandem with evolving creative tools, technology, and community expectations.

A refreshed introduction

We’re proposing a small update to the opening section of the Community Guidelines to better capture what Patreon has become: a media and community platform connecting creators and their biggest fans. The introductory section will still be grounded in the principles of human rights, free expression, and privacy. Think of it as a clearer welcome mat, not a change in values.

Updating our teen safety guidelines for today’s landscape

As technologies evolve, we’re proposing updates to the Teen Safety section of the Community Guidelines to ensure our expectations remain clear.

The proposed language more explicitly prohibits AI-generated or digitally altered depictions of minors and clarifies that adults may not depict or represent themselves as minors in sexualized contexts, including through digital editing, AI, or roleplay. Additionally, it specifies that in animated or illustrated Adult/18+ works, subjects must be unmistakably represented as adults, with expanded guidance on how we assess that.

These updates build on Patreon’s long-standing zero-tolerance policy toward child sexual exploitation and align with advancements in safety standards and creative tools.

Expanding protections against image-based abuse

We’re also proposing updates to the Harassment section of the Community Guidelines to expand and clarify our definition of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII). The new language more clearly addresses a wider array of image-based abuses, from AI-generated deepfakes to covert recordings (”creepshots,” “upskirting,” “downblousing”) and blackmail (”sextortion,”) as well as apps or tools that enable this type of material. This update reinforces Patreon’s zero-tolerance stance on intimate image abuse and ensures our guidelines align with industry safety standards. Creators can still discuss or raise awareness about NCII for educational or advocacy purposes, they just should not share the imagery itself.

Clarifying expectations in partnership with Adult/18+ creators

In recent months, we hosted roundtables with Adult/18+ creators to understand where the current guidelines and enforcement feel unclear or inconsistently applied. Creators told us that some rules and moderation decisions feel vague, and that they want clearer definitions, examples tailored to different formats, and more transparency about the “why” behind rules. Their insights directly shaped the updates we are proposing now, which aim to make Adult/18+ expectations easier to interpret, navigate, and follow with confidence.

Here’s what we’re proposing:

A more comprehensive section name: Renaming the section of the Community Guidelines
to “Adult/18+ Works” (from “Sexually Gratifying Works”) to more clearly reflect its scope and content.
Clearer lines for what is allowed where: A reorganized structure that lays out what material is not permitted anywhere on Patreon, what is restricted to Adult/18+ paywalled spaces, and what is permitted in Safe for All Audiences contexts. This includes a clearer articulation of expectations for public-facing areas of a page (for example, profile image, page banner, tier descriptions, or posts accessible to free members).
Definitions and more predictable enforcement: More detailed descriptions of what constitutes sexual activity, consent, sexual violence, incest, bestiality, and related topics across photo, video, illustrated, animated, written, and audio formats. These updates are meant to reduce ambiguity, improve consistency in enforcement decisions, and address creator feedback about vague notices and unclear citations.
Clarifications around AI-generated works: Refined guidance that distinguishes stylized or illustrated AI-generated characters (permitted on Adult/18+ pages) from hyperrealistic depictions of real people (permitted only with consent documentation). The updates would also define and prohibit synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery: digitally created or altered images, videos, or audio (for example, deepfakes or AI “undressing” tools) that make it look like someone took part in a sexual situation when they did not.
More transparency around the “why”: In some instances, to process creator payments, payment partners require additional information or diligence (for example, age verification or consent documentation). These requirements are not new; rather, we’re adding clearer explanations about these requirements to help creators better understand them.

Across the board, these revisions aim to make the guidelines clearer, more consistent, and more equitable in practice, reflecting what we heard from creators during the roundtables. We look forward to hearing feedback on these proposals from the Adult/18+ creator community.

Advocacy spotlight: representing creators in Europe

Earlier this year, Patreon became a founding member of Middle Tech Europe, a coalition of mid-sized tech companies that advocates for balanced, inclusive digital regulation across the European Union. This week, Patreon joined coalition partners in Brussels (home to the European Commission, Council, and Parliament) for a series of meetings and a reception with policymakers. This work helps ensure that creators’ perspectives are represented in conversations about legislative developments in the European Union related to online safety such as the Digital Fairness Act and the Digital Services Act.

Celebrating four years of StopNCII.org

Patreon is proud to celebrate the fourth anniversary of StopNCII.org, a global safety initiative and trusted partner that helps individuals prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate imagery by creating secure “hashes” of their images so platforms can detect and block unauthorized sharing.

“We’re grateful to the StopNCII.org team for four years of leadership in the fight against non-consensual intimate imagery,” said Eric Han, Patreon’s VP of Trust & Safety. “Patreon is proud to partner with them in our shared commitment to raise awareness, support survivors, and build a safer digital world for everyone.”

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with StopNCII.org to strengthen protections for creators and support survivors of image-based harm.

How to share your policy feedback

Your input is essential to getting these updates right. Here’s how to participate:

Join the livestream on Thursday, December 11: RSVP here to ask questions live or receive the recording afterward.
Join the post-event Q&A in the #policy-live-qa channel in Patreon’s Creator Community Discord, open through Thursday, December 18 at 3:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. PST // 8:00 p.m. GMT).
Email the Policy Team at [email protected].

Thank you for continuing to be part of this process. Your feedback and partnership help us evolve Patreon’s policies with transparency and care, keeping the platform safe and inclusive for creators and fans alike.