Losing content is not a risk you can afford. Whether you're managing a creator's account, migrating between platforms, or building datasets for AI models, having a complete and current backup of all media is essential — and doing it manually is not realistic at scale.
This guide shows you how to download all photos, videos, GIFs, and audio from OnlyFans accounts you have access to, with date filters and media type selection for precise control over what gets exported.
Authenticated vs. Public Media Access
Before diving into the workflow, it's important to understand the difference between two types of media access:
- Public profile scraping — downloads publicly visible data like avatars, header images, bios, and stats. No OnlyFans login required. Covered in detail in our public profile scraping guide.
- Authenticated media access — downloads the full content library including photos, videos, GIFs, and audio from accounts you're logged into through OnlyFans API. This is what this guide covers.
Authenticated access is required because the media you're downloading is private content — it's only available to accounts with the right permissions.
How to Download Media Without Code
Once you're logged into OnlyFans through OnlyFans API, the media export process takes less than a minute to set up:
- Go to Data Exports and select "Media" as your data type
- Choose your account — pick which connected OnlyFans account to download media from
- Set a date range — export all media or select a specific period (ideal for incremental backups)
- Select media types — choose from photos, GIFs, videos, audio, or export everything
- Click Export — the system packages your media into a ZIP file
For smaller exports, the download starts immediately. For larger libraries, the system processes in the background and sends you an email notification the moment the ZIP file is ready to download.
Incremental Backups: Only Download What's New
Running a full media export every time is wasteful when you only need the latest content. Date range filtering solves this:
- First backup — export everything from the beginning to get a complete archive
- Subsequent backups — set the start date to the day after your last export to only pull new content
- Scheduled exports — combine date filtering with the API endpoint to automate daily or weekly incremental backups
This approach keeps your archive current without re-downloading gigabytes of content you already have.
Automating Media Downloads with the API
For teams managing multiple accounts or building automated pipelines, the Data Export endpoint supports programmatic media exports with the same filtering options available in the dashboard.
The documentation includes ready-made code snippets that you can copy directly into your project. Common automation patterns include:
- Scheduled backups — trigger nightly exports filtered to the last 24 hours
- Multi-account pipelines — loop through connected accounts and export media from each
- Event-driven exports — use webhooks to trigger a media export when new content is posted
- Dataset generation — automatically package media into training datasets with consistent structure
Explore the documentation: Media Export Guide
Use Cases for Media Downloads
Bulk media exports serve critical needs across agencies, creators, and technical teams:
- Account migration — move all content from one platform or system to another without losing a single file
- Disaster recovery — maintain an up-to-date off-platform backup so content is never lost to account issues or platform changes
- AI and ML training — build image and video datasets from real creator content for model training and fine-tuning
- Content management — organize, tag, and catalog media in external asset management systems
- Compliance and archiving — maintain exportable records of all published content for legal or operational requirements
Part of a 5-Part Tutorial Series
This guide is Part 4 of a complete series covering every data type you can export from OnlyFans:
- Part 1: Download & Scrape Any OnlyFans Data Automatically — overview of all data types and the export workflow
- Part 2: Download Every OnlyFans Chat Message — structured message exports for AI training and analytics
- Part 3: Scrape Any Public OnlyFans Profile — filter and export public creator data for directories and scouting
- Part 4: Download OnlyFans Photos & Videos (this guide) — complete media backup and AI dataset creation
- Part 5: Track Every OnlyFans Dollar — transactions, payouts, and chargeback exports
Getting Started
Media exports are available from the Basic plan, and you can test everything with a 7-day free trial — no commitment required.
Use code DATA25 at registration for 25% off your first 3 months: Start your free trial
As always, we ask that you use OnlyFans API responsibly, in line with platform terms and applicable copyright laws.
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