Pornhub will stop new users in the UK from accessing its site from 2 February, citing mandatory age checks introduced under the Online Safety Act (OSA). The move also affects YouPorn and RedTube, owned by the same Cyprus-based company, Aylo.
Existing users who have already verified their age will retain access. The company said its UK traffic had dropped 77% since July 2025, when Ofcom began enforcing age checks. Aylo vice-president Alex Kekesi criticised the system, claiming it drives users to unregulated sites and compromises privacy.
Ofcom reported that visitor numbers to Pornhub fell from 11.3 million in August 2024 to 9.8 million in August 2025. Meanwhile, VPN usage in the UK more than doubled after the checks were introduced, peaking at 1.4 million users in mid-August before falling to 900,000 in December.
An Ofcom spokesperson said porn services must choose between age checks or blocking UK access, and that the regulator has launched investigations into over 80 sites and fined one provider £1m. As of this week, 68 of the top 100 porn services in the UK have implemented age checks.
