UK Porn Site Traffic Crashes 47% After Strict Age Verification Rules — VPN Use Soars

The UK’s adult content landscape, with players like PornHub, has seen a seismic shift in just two weeks. Following the introduction of enhanced age verification rules under the Online Safety Act, traffic to major porn sites has nosedived, with Pornhub losing nearly half its UK visitors.

According to new data from analytics firm Similarweb, Pornhub, the UK’s most visited adult site, saw daily visits plummet from an average of 3.2 million in July to 2 million in early August. The steep 47% decline came after the platform rolled out stricter access checks on 25 July 2025, aimed at keeping under-18s out.

XVideos, another leading adult platform, mirrored UK Pornhub’s drop with a 47% fall, while OnlyFans saw a more modest but still significant 10% decline in UK traffic.

Smaller Sites See a Boost

While Online Safety Act-compliant UK porn platforms experienced sharp losses, Similarweb’s analysis found that smaller, less-regulated porn sites recorded increases in traffic — a shift that critics warn could expose users to unsafe and extreme content.

A UK Pornhub spokesperson told the BBC: “As we’ve seen in many jurisdictions, compliant sites often see a drop in traffic while non-compliant platforms rise.”

Spotify Now Scans Faces for Age Checks in the UK — And It Might Delete Your Account

VPN Boom in the UK

In the days after enforcement, VPN apps skyrocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store UK downloads. By disguising a user’s location, VPNs allow people to bypass geographic restrictions — potentially accessing adult content without undergoing age verification. This surge could make it harder to track how many people are visiting porn sites from within the UK.

How the Rules Work

Under Ofcom’s guidelines, adult websites can verify age through:

Credit card checks

Photo ID matching

Selfie-based age estimation

Ofcom estimates that 14 million UK residents watch online porn. Critics of the new policy argue that instead of safeguarding young users, the crackdown may drive audiences toward unregulated or darker parts of the internet, such as the dark web.

The UK joins a growing list of countries enforcing digital age gates for adult content, sparking debates over privacy, censorship, and online freedom. Supporters believe the move is essential for child protection, while opponents warn it could erode civil liberties and push users into riskier online spaces.

With traffic to major porn platforms collapsing in the UK and VPN usage surging, the real test will be whether these regulations truly protect minors — or reshape the way UK audiences consume porn and adult content.