LOS ANGELES—xHamster is celebrating its 10th birthday this month.
That first video—a sex scene filmed in a sauna—launched a company which now boast more than 30 million daily users and ranks as one of 100 most visited websites in the world.
“That sauna helped launch not only a business, but a lifestyle,” said Alex Hawkins, VP of xHamster. “Unlike other tube sites, we don’t depend on studio content, but rather have built a community of two billion like-minded users who enjoy sharing their private videos with the world.”
xHamster now claims more than four million videos from nearly two billion users in 197 countries. The company has been at the forefront of technology, privacy and the rights of LGBTQ community.
In the 10 years since it launched, xHamster has:
- Taken a leadership role with privacy protections for users, becoming one of the first sites to go to the secure HTTPS protocols, and fighting the UK’s Digital Economy Bill, which would require adult visitors to register with a government porn database.
- Worked with users in countries where sexual and political content is banned to evade blocks and filters.
- Used its power for the good: protesting North Carolina’s controversial HB2 anti-trans bathroom bill, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, and Utah’s refusal to provide sex education in schools.
- Created its own successful beer line, xHamster beer, and a silicone doll, xHamsterina.
- Launched original, sex-related programming, including: Sex Factor, a porn reality show with a million-dollar prize; the raunchy, SFW cartoon series xHamsterland; and the sex ed series "The Box."
To celebrate their anniversary, xHamster has created a portrait of the xHamster logo (above) using thumbnail photos from thousands of users.
This month, xHamster also debuts a new version of the site with a low-light “go dark” function, that keeps your nighttime visits discreet.
“We’re a different type of porn company, and invested in the well-being of our users,” said Hawkins. “Our users have responded to us. In the next ten years, we hope to be the first adult company to become a mainstream media brand, with not just porn, but original mainstream programming, an advocacy arm — maybe even a theme park. We’ve grown so much in the past 10 years, and we’re dreaming big.”
