Proton VPN signups surge 1,400% as UK age verification law begins
The new age checks websites with explicit content continues to send influx users to Proton VPN.
The popular virtual private network (VPN) reports an hourly increase of 1,400% of registrations compared to its reference until now Friday, July 25, the day when the UK verification law comes into force. It is according to an observatory page on the Proton VPN website which follows these jumps of use.
Verification of the age of the United Kingdom begins on July 25. Here’s what it means for you.
Under the UK online security law, sites and applications with explicit content must now check the ages of visitors via methods such as facial recognition and banking information, by associate editor Mashable, Anna Iovine, in order to prevent minors from accessing the content. The law applies to adult sites such as pornhub as well as meetings of meetings like Tinder and Hinge. The British Communications ofcom regulator began to apply it at midnight BST on Friday.
Proton VPN had previously documented a 1,000% increase in new subscribers in June after Pornhub left France, its second largest market, in the midst of the promulgation of an age verification law. Later this month, Pornhub’s parent company Aylo told Mashable in a statement that she had agreed to comply with the UK counterpart.
A spokesperson for Proton VPN told Mashable that he had seen an increase in new subscribers right away at midnight on Friday, then at 9 a.m. BST. The company provides for new overvoltages during the weekend, they added.
“This clearly shows that adults are concerned about the impact of universal age verification laws will have their privacy,” said the spokesperson.
Mashable lighting speed
Proton VPN has shared an additional context on X, noting that “unlike previous overvoltages, it is maintained and is much higher than when France has lost access to the content of adults … We would normally associate these large peaks during registration with major civil disorders.”
This tweet is currently not available. It can be loaded or has been deleted.
The interest of research for the term “Proton VPN” also experienced a seven-day peak in the United Kingdom around 2 am on Friday, according to a Google trends table. Proton VPN shared a screenshot of the graphic on X, writing: “I’m sure it’s not football this time …”
This tweet is currently not available. It can be loaded or has been deleted.
A VPN is a service that transports user traffic via a quantified tunnel to a remote server before sending it on the web, a process that masks their real IP address and masks their browsing activities from third parties. Although this is not their main objective, VPNs are also commonly used to parody. If a user connects to a VPN server based in a country in which he is not physically, he will seem instead from there.
Initial research shows that VPNs make age verification laws in the United States and abroad to apply in practice for this exact reason, as reported by Iovine de Mashable. (Whatever the implications of freedom of expression and confidentiality.)
Founded in 2017, Proton VPN currently has 13,700 servers in more than 120 countries around the world. Read our full examination of his service here.
Update: July 25, 2025, 3:50 p.m. HAE This story has been updated with additional details on the registration overvoltage of Proton VPN.
Update: July 25, 2025, 12:35 pm EDT This story has been updated with a VPN Proton declaration and more information on the operation of VPNs.
