XTube Is Shutting Down, Fans Reach For Tissues

XTube, the popular adult website is closing down on September 5. The imminent shuttering of the website that was known for hosting amateur adult content has had fans reaching for their tissues.

XTube started in 2008 and at the time was the first website to allow users to upload their own, homemade pornographic content online. The name of the website cleverly piggybacked off the success and fame of a different website with a very similar business model, YouTube. 

The parent company behind XTube, MindGeek, made the shock announcement on Monday July 5, and while no official reason was given for the announcement, MindGeek has had to answer some difficult questions of late, being subject to lawsuits and allegations of hosting illegal content such as rape, revenge porn and child sexual abuse.

The fans were despondent after the news hit social media, with some sharing their favourite videos, others memes.

yooooo XTube is shutting down for good on the 5th of september pic.twitter.com/E0ot6BeJgg

— +46 (031) – 961 374 (@Super_arMio) July 7, 2021

Others said they would save their favourite Xtube videos.

I was known as Atalycus for 15 years.

I had 11 j/o videos, 3 in public, 2 with a sex toy & only 1 showed my face.

I liked my porn real raw & amateur looking!

Without Xtube, I don’t know where I would have let my digital freak flag fly!

Thank you for setting the stage #Xtube pic.twitter.com/0Nbw4X8cBx

— Poly Demisexual Mini Gawd (@BlacXicanGaymer) July 6, 2021

XTube closure imminent 

A statement from XTube about the closure of its operations reads, “It’s a sad day for us at XTube, but we have to announce that after 13 years, XTube.com will be shutting down September 5th”

“We’re proud of the vibrant community we’ve built since 2008, and we’re grateful to all of you who have shared your content on our platform. Unfortunately, it’s time for us to move on to greener pastures and greater things.”

BREAKING: Major MindGeek porn tube site Xtube is SHUTTING DOWN September 5.

Lesson: If you can’t operate legally, you can’t operate at all.

Next up: Pornhub.#Traffickinghub #ShutItDown #GoodbyeXtube pic.twitter.com/gkvYeKE5wP

— Laila Mickelwait (@LailaMickelwait) July 6, 2021

But at the end of the day, this might just beMindGeek consolidating their business costs! 

Because you can already upload your amateur adventures to Pornhub, another of the myriad of companies that fall under the MindGeek umbrella – you might recognise them from other video sharing sites such as RedTube and YouPorn or maybe even from their adult film production companies like Sean Cody or Men.com.

And when you consider that XTube has had just 10.77M visitors in May 2021, compared to the incredible number of visits at 2.31B for PornHub in the same period, you could see why MindGeek are really not bothered at all about XTube.

Human rights and sexual exploitation questions 

They might need to be bothered about the growing rumble of voices from groups concerned about human rights and trafficking issues. Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, who led a class-action case against Mindgeek tweeted, “Announced shutdown of XTube is more evidence MindGeek’s exploitation empire is crumbling. MindGeek hosts, profits from CSAM [child sexual abuse material], rape, sex trafficking, nonconsensual material, sexual violence, and other racist and misogynistic content on its myriad of porn websites”

Announced shutdown of XTube is more evidence MindGeek’s exploitation empire is crumbling. MindGeek hosts, profits from CSAM, rape, sex trafficking, nonconsensual material, sexual violence, and other racist and misogynistic content on its myriad of porn websites. #Traffickinghub

— Dawn Hawkins (@DawnHawkins33) July 6, 2021

Laila Mickelwait, CEO of Justice Defence Fund also shared the news on Twitter, writing: “Lesson: If you can’t operate legally, you can’t operate at all.”

As reported in the Star Observer in December 2020, Pornhub removed almost 10 million videos that were uploaded by unverified users, which saw “videos uploaded on the website plummet from 13.5 million to just under three million in less than a week.”