Summary
Pornhub reports a 77% drop in UK visitors after new age checks for explicit websites began. The Online Safety Act requires these checks to ensure users are over 18. Some users may be using VPNs to bypass these checks.
Key Facts
- Pornhub says UK traffic decreased by 77% since new age checks started in July.
- The checks are part of the Online Safety Act, requiring proof of being over 18.
- Searches for Pornhub in the UK have also dropped by about half according to Google data.
- VPN use in the UK has seen a rise, possibly to bypass age checks.
- Ofcom states the new law is effective in preventing minors from accessing explicit content.
- Daily VPN users dropped from 1.5 million in July to about one million.
- There were over 10.7 million VPN app downloads in the UK in 2025 from major app stores.
- Some explicit content sites reportedly saw increased traffic by not enforcing age checks.
