Proton VPN reports a 1,400% signup surge as the UK enforces strict porn age verification law

Britain woke up on Friday to a seismic shift in its online privacy landscape—one that’s sent thousands scrambling for cover.

As the UK’s controversial age verification law for explicit websites took effect at midnight on 25 July, Proton VPN reported a jaw-dropping 1,400% surge in new user signups. The Switzerland-based company, known for its privacy-first approach, shared live tracking data showing a massive hourly increase far above its usual baseline.

The spike coincided with the enforcement of the Online Safety Act—a law that now requires adult sites and dating apps to verify users’ ages using intrusive methods like facial recognition and banking data. Platforms such as Pornhub, Tinder and Hinge are all caught in the net, and the UK’s communications watchdog Ofcom is now actively enforcing compliance.

Proton VPN’s spokesperson told Mashable that the surge began precisely at midnight BST, spiked again at 9 a.m., and is expected to snowball over the weekend.

“This clearly shows that adults are concerned about the impact universal age verification laws will have on their privacy,” the company said in a statement.

Search data from Google Trends backs it up. Interest in “Proton VPN” in the UK skyrocketed around 2 a.m. Friday. Proton cheekily posted a screenshot of the spike on X (formerly Twitter), quipping, “Pretty sure it’s not the footy this time…”

The trend is part of a larger pattern. In June, when France passed a similar law prompting Pornhub to pull out of the country, Proton VPN recorded a 1,000% surge in subscriptions. Friday’s British surge, however, is reportedly even more intense and sustained.

Proton noted that previous traffic spikes usually happen during civil unrest. This one, they say, has similar hallmarks: mass public resistance to perceived government overreach.

The new law has been touted as a child protection measure. Supporters argue it will shield minors from harmful content. But critics warn that the requirements go too far, turning privacy into collateral damage. The age checks involve data sources like biometric scans and banking credentials—raising the spectre of surveillance and data breaches.

For many, the answer is a VPN.

A virtual private network encrypts internet traffic and routes it through a remote server, making users’ activity invisible to prying eyes. While mainly used for security and bypassing censorship, VPNs are now a common workaround for region-blocked content. In the UK, that means sidestepping invasive verification systems by digitally relocating to countries where no such laws exist.

“This surge isn’t just about porn,” said one privacy advocate on social media. “It’s about the government pushing people into surveillance tech without consent.”

The implications go beyond adult entertainment. Critics fear this could be a testing ground for more widespread data-driven enforcement mechanisms—potentially spilling over into other sectors like gambling, gaming, and even political speech.

So far, sites that refuse to comply risk being blocked altogether. Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, confirmed it would cooperate with the UK law, unlike in France. But for many Britons, the damage to digital autonomy is already done.

As weekend traffic builds, all signs suggest this VPN boom is far from a blip. And while the government claims the law is in children’s best interests, Friday’s exodus to encrypted tunnels suggests a very adult backlash in full swing.