Uk Porn Traffic Dips Amid New Age Checks – Vpn Use Surges

UK Porn Habits Shift with New Regulations

The UK's online adult entertainment landscape has shifted dramatically in recent months. Since the new age verification laws kicked in earlier this year, UK-based traffic to porn sites has experienced a notable dip. The communications watchdog Ofcom reported a significant decline in visits to big-name adult sites starting July 25, when the highly effective age assurance (HEAA) was enforced, as detailed in its annual Online Nation report.

Notably, Pornhub, the leading adult content provider in the UK, saw its viewer count shrink by 1.5 million in a year-on-year comparison. Ofcom's figures revealed a fall from 11.3 million viewers in August 2024 to 9.8 million in the same month this year. This drop follows the introduction of compulsory age checks, mandated by the Online Safety Act, a move touted by government officials as a way to shield children from explicit online content.

Virtual Private Networks: The Go-To Loophole?

The decline in site visits, however, has been mirrored by a surge in the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) across the UK. Following the age verification enforcement, the number of daily VPN users more than doubled, peaking at over 1.4 million in mid-August 2025, up from around 650,000 users before July 25. By November, this figure stabilized at approximately 900,000 users.

“Use of a VPN can provide users with additional privacy and security," Ofcom noted, "allowing them to access sites with geographic restrictions."

This trend has sparked debate, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage suggesting that children might evade the Online Safety Act restrictions by harnessing VPN technology to disguise their identity and location.

Who’s Really Behind the VPN Spike?

While Ofcom’s data doesn’t distinctly attribute the rise in VPN usage to either underage users or privacy-focused adults, it aligns with Childnet's findings. The recent survey revealed that nearly a quarter of young users have begun using VPNs in the past three months, a figure consistent with last year's data.

Reasons cited by young users for VPN use span from online safety and privacy to bypassing parental controls, with 10% admitting to using VPNs for accessing age-inappropriate content. Interestingly, the research didn’t find a notable increase in first-time VPN users from the younger demographic since the age checks rollout in July 2025.

Adult Sites and the User Experience

Despite the overall downturn, some adult sites like Chaturbate have maintained stable visitor numbers. Ofcom suggests this consistency might stem from the site's model requiring payment for private shows and interactions, meaning users were already accustomed to a certain "friction" in accessing content.

It's clear that while age checks have reshaped the UK’s digital adult landscape, the battle between regulation and user adaptation continues.