Age Verification Laws Drove VPN Searches to Double in UK

by Angelina Vodenicharova, 11 March 2026

As online regulation tightens across the UK, accessing adult websites has become increasingly restricted. In July 2025, VPN searches doubled from a stable baseline of approximately 42.

This comes from an analysis by the team at Online-Casinos.com, who examined the interest in VPNs after the Online Safety Act ID checks came into full effect.

How VPN Interest Developed by City

The enforcement itself caused concern among UK internet users. VPN searches nationwide increased 136% in August 2025. Earley recorded the highest search interest with a score of 100 on Google’s interest scale.

This was followed by Burnham, scoring 70, with Stretford and Cambridge coming in joint third with a score of 34.

Earley and Burnham rank as the UK locations with the highest VPN search interest between 2021 and 2026.

VPN Searches in University Cities Particularly High

Notably, seven of the top ten were university cities. Stretford, Cambridge and Salford trailed top-ranked Earley, followed closely by Oxford, London, and Edinburgh.

Whether this is coincidence or a reflection of the younger demographics these cities attract is up for debate, but recent research suggests the latter may not be far off.

An Ipsos survey from March 2025 found 18-34-year-olds were three times more likely than those aged 55-75 to circumvent online restrictions. When asked whether people like them knowingly use unlicensed sites, 28% of younger users agreed, compared to just 9% of older users.

Age Verification Bypass Searches Exploded from Zero

UK users searching for “age verification bypass” showed an even sharper pattern. This term averaged zero before July 2025. In 234 of 238 weeks tracked, this search term registered zero search interest. On July 20, 2025, it exploded to 98, reaching 100 by July 27.

Regional patterns differed completely from VPN searches. Northern Ireland led with a score of 100, followed by Scotland and Wales at 75 each. England, despite having 84% of the UK’s population, recorded the lowest score at just 50. This suggests different levels of technical knowledge or different attitudes towards UK government restrictions across the nations.

Northern Ireland shows the highest search interest in age verification bypass queries, followed by Scotland, Wales and England.

Timeline Shows Exact Correlation with Enforcement

For four years, VPN searches remained stable between 29 and 49. The Online Safety Act passed Parliament in October 2023. No reaction. Gambling advertising restrictions started in January 2024. No change. Then came July 2025.

On July 20, 2025, five days before the porn website age verification became mandatory, searches jumped to 87. By July 27, they hit 100. Six months later in January 2026, they remain at 65, sustained over 50% above historical levels.

News coverage built between July 15 (when Reddit announced users must submit selfies or passport scans) and July 25 (when enforcement went live). Katie Freeman-Tayler of Internet Matters predicted on July 24 that “VPN use is only likely to increase when measures come into force.” The data proved her right.

Users interviewed by the BBC ahead of enforcement made their concerns clear. “Please upload a face scan of your ID and passport? No thank you,” said Shea, a porn user in his 20s. Tom, also in his 20s, warned: “It’s not a question of if something will leak, but when.”

Ofcom confirmed in October that VPN use “more than doubled” after the rules took effect. The regulator found 10.7 million VPN app downloads on UK mobile devices across 2025 alone, more than ten times Ofcom’s own estimate of one million daily VPN users for general purposes.

Results Show Permanent Behaviour Change

Both VPN and age verification bypass searches spiked in the same week of July 20-27, 2025, coinciding with Online Safety Act enforcement. Six months later, both remain elevated. VPN searches stay over 50% above baseline. Age verification bypass searches maintain a steady rate of 10-15, compared to zero before.

The pattern is clear: enforcement drove circumvention. Whether the Online Safety Act protected children or taught adults how to bypass internet restrictions remains an open question.

Methodology

For the comparison, the team at Online-Casinos.com analysed Google Trends data for the search terms “VPN” and “age verification bypass” across 238 weeks between January 28, 2021, and January 28, 2026. City-level data was examined for VPN searches across 35 UK cities. Nation-level data was analysed for age verification bypass searches across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Historical baseline data was compared against the July-August 2025 enforcement period.

Additional context was gathered from BBC News articles published July 15, July 24, and October 2025, as well as Ofcom regulatory reports and Ipsos survey data from March 2025. Data collection period: January 28, 2021, to January 28, 2026.

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