[20] Later, through an Instagram account after having left Playboy, in July 2019 Hefner stated his new digital content platform would be called instead StagDaily.

[21][22] In December 2019, Hefner halted plans to start a media company and digital content platform, and chose instead to enlist in the United States Air Force.

[24] Hefner was deployed stateside to New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst for Operation Allies Welcome, which supported resettlement of approximately 130,000 refugees airlifted from Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

PLBY, which had reported a decline in revenue, said in August that it is re-launching Playboy magazine as an annual edition, as of February 2025.

[26] In 2015, Hefner became engaged to British actress Scarlett Byrne, best known for her role as student Pansy Parkinson in the Harry Potter series.

[11] In July 2020, Hefner announced his campaign as a Democrat for the California Senate in 2022, in the state's 30th District, but suspended it four months later.