The United Kingdom has witnessed an unprecedented surge in VPN usage following the enforcement of a new age-verification law under the Online Safety Act.
This law, which officially came into effect on July 25, 2025, mandates that websites and apps offering adult or potentially harmful content implement strict age checks, such as government-issued ID scans, facial recognition, or bank verification.
Soon after the regulation went live, VPN services reported massive spikes in user activity. Proton VPN alone saw a 1,400% increase in hourly sign-ups within minutes of the law’s implementation. Other popular VPN apps quickly climbed to the top of the UK App Store charts, as users looked for ways to maintain their privacy and bypass the newly imposed digital barriers.
The law targets a wide range of platforms, from adult websites to mainstream services like Reddit, Discord, Instagram, and gaming networks. More than 6,000 websites have already adopted age-verification systems, often relying on users’ IP addresses to enforce restrictions. However, VPNs make this geo-blocking ineffective by masking a user’s location.
You can read the full report on this development at vpnMentor.
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