Life As An OnlyFans "Chatter"

Plenty of big-name OnlyFans creators use “chatting” services. “Chatters” work around the clock (typically as part of a larger organization) to give subscribers 24/7 access to their favorite creator. But what does the job actually entail? One artist and writer went undercover as a male chatter at a chatting agency and what she found is absolutely fascinating.

Ella Fleck is based in London. Her work as an artist and writer has focused on sex and lust, and how those qualities inform daily life. Calling herself Elliot, she found a Reddit subtopic, which led to a Telegram chat, which eventually led to a Discord training server where she spent six weeks training to become a “chatter”. The process turned out to be way more demanding than she thought.

This particular organization takes their work extremely seriously. Chatters are expected to do more than just the classic “hey babe, u up?” text. Chatters commit to memory a specific creator’s way of talking, texting, just about everything down to their mannerisms. With all this hard work, sexting may sound like the easy part. But even chatters who think of themselves as masters of seduction have something to learn from the six week (unpaid) bootcamp. Potential recruits are expected to pass speed typing exams, master the lingo (which changes platform to platform), even learning how exactly to tease subscribers into paying the most while staying the most engaged.

Fleck says chatters “learn [a creator’s] profile, how she speaks, texts,” and the main goal is, of course, earning the creator the most money. Each subscriber is different, which makes it a whole hell of a lot more difficult than it sounds. Some subscribers interact with creators for the emotional attachment (e.g. Girlfriend Experience creators) whilst some are just there to pleasure themselves. Chatters must alter their own behavior to match the vibes of the person they’re talking to. They sometimes go as far as recalling personal details the subscriber has shared with the chatter and using those to make the subscriber feel closer to the “creator” (the chatter). 

What stayed with Fleck the most was the sheer diversity of what subscribers wanted. “Everything from talking about dreams of designing a new house, who their dream architect to work on it is, what their perfect car is… to quite personal things.” Fleck recalls one gentleman who shared that his mother was in the hospital and another who asked her to write a 40-line poem about how awesome he is.

The language that chatters choose when talking to a subscriber is vital, Fleck says. “There was a guy who really wanted to come across as rich, wealthy or powerful, and so you wouldn’t call him ‘baby’; you’d say something like ‘my big man’.” This may seem insignificant, but it’s at the heart of building rapport with customers. To hear Fleck tell it, “It’s about validation. A lot of it is about making the person feel seen, heard or admired.”

Clearly, chatters aren’t allowed to reveal their true identity or employer, but the one phrase that, if mentioned, gets them “immediately fired” is “I love you”.

This information absolutely dumbfounded Fleck. “Of course, the implication of care and love is through all of the conversations. But to withhold that phrase,” Fleck says, “this is all anyone wants to be told”. 

To Fleck, she’s still processing all this. She says most of her focus has gone into building the artwork in a way that best portrays the time she spent as a chatter. “I collected all this material, and I’m creating an environment that replicates the atmosphere of the training: being in the system, seeing money being passed around, hearing men’s voices say the scripts, feeling it as a visceral, bodily thing, rather than just messages on a screen.”

Fleck’s experience will be part of her exhibit called Training Material, scheduled to debut at London’s annual art fair, Frieze, in October.