Pornhub says UK visitors down 77% since age checks came in

"Pornhub says the number of UK visitors to its website is down 77% compared with July, when more rigorous age checks for sexually explicit sites were introduced under the Online Safety Act. It claims sites that are ignoring the new requirements are benefiting. The BBC has not been able to independently verify Pornhub's claim - however, data from Google shows searches for the site have decreased by almost half since the law came into effect. This could be a consequence of people reducing their porn use but could also be partly explained by people visiting the site through alternative means such as a VPN, which masks a user's location."

"Pornhub is the most visited porn site in the world - and the 19th most visited on the entire web, according to data from Similarweb. Under the OSA, anyone accessing such websites in the UK now has to prove they are over 18 with age checks such as facial identification. The firm's claim is the latest indication that people in the UK are changing how they use the internet since the Online Safety Act came into effect."

Pornhub reports UK visitors declined by 77% compared with July after stricter age checks for sexually explicit sites were introduced under the Online Safety Act. Google search data shows queries for the site have fallen by almost half since the law took effect. Ofcom reports visits to pornography sites in the UK dropped by almost a third in the three months since 25 July and says the rules prevent children from easily stumbling across porn. Ofcom estimated daily VPN users rose to 1.5 million in July then fell to about one million, while Cybernews recorded over 10.7 million VPN app downloads in 2025.

Read at www.bbc.com