Pornhub announces new restrictions for users after introducing age verification

Pornhub has announced more restrictions for the UK following the adult platform's age-verification checks that were introduced last year.

Back in July 2025, the X-rated website added much tighter restrictions on who can access its content, meaning it took a lot more than just ticking a box to prove you're 18.

The checks were made under the Online Safety Act (OSA) and issued by regulator Ofcom, with the intention of preventing children from easily accessing pornography online.

Any adults who want to access pornographic websites such as Pornhub have to comply with a 'non-exhaustive' list of technologies that may be used to verify ages with just a handful including; open banking, photo ID matching, credit card checks and email-based age estimation.

However, it looks like this hasn't worked as well as hoped, as Pornhub have branded it a 'failed system' and claimed it actually 'made the internet more dangerous for minors and adults'.

Taking matters into its own hands, the NSFW website is set to restrict access for UK users from February.

New users will be unable to access Pornhub from early February (Getty Stock Image)

The Canadian adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo said that new users in the UK will no longer be able to access its content-sharing platforms, including Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube, from February 2.

UK users who have already verified their age will keep their access through their existing accounts. But as for anyone new, you have until February 2 to sign up and undergo checks or you'll lose access.

As we say, Aylo believe the Online Safety Act did the opposite of what was intended and 'jeopardised the privacy and personal data of UK citizens'.

The company said it would 'no longer participate in the failed system that has been created in the United Kingdom as a result of the OSA’s introduction'.

It comes after research suggested earlier this month that nearly half of adult pornography users have accessed sites without age checks since new verification rules came into force.

A poll by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation (LFF) found that since the law changed in July, 45% of 1,469 people who use pornography had gone on websites without age checks to avoid putting in their personal information.

Alex Kekesi, Aylo’s vice president of brand and community, said: "Our sites, which host legal and regulated porn, will no longer be available in the UK to new users, but thousands of irresponsible porn sites will still be easy to access.

It comes after age verification measures were brought in last July (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)

"Despite the clear intent of the law to restrict minors’ access to adult content, and commitment to enforcement, after six months of implementation, our experience strongly suggests that the OSA has failed to achieve that objective."

Kekesi added: “We cannot continue to operate within a system that, in our view, fails to deliver on its promise of child safety, and has had the opposite impact.

“We believe this framework in practice has diverted traffic to darker, unregulated corners of the internet, and has also jeopardised the privacy and personal data of UK citizens."

As per the BBC, In October, Aylo said that the law change had caused traffic to the website to fall by 77%.

However, Ofcom said at the time that the tougher age checks were fulfilling their purpose of stopping children coming across inappropriate material.

An Ofcom spokesperson said on Tuesday (27 January): "Porn services have a choice between using age checks to protect users as required under the Act, or to block access to their sites in the UK.

“There’s nothing to stop technology providers from developing solutions which work at the device level, and we would urge the industry to get on with that if they can evidence it is highly effective.

Anyone without an account on February 2 won't be able to access the site (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

“Our job is to enforce the rules as they stand. We’ve put in place age assurance rules that are flexible and proportionate, and we have seen widespread adoption."

It added: “We’ve taken strong and swift action against non-compliance, launching investigations into more than 80 porn sites and fining a porn provider £1 million, with more to come."

The regulator outlined its plans to continue dialogue with Aylo 'to understand this change to its position' and assured that 'any changes to the law around device-based age assurance is a matter for government'.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, added: "The Online Safety Act is clear: online pornographic services must stop children accessing this material by putting robust age assurance in place.

"It does not stop adults viewing legal content, and services do not need to leave the UK - they simply need to ensure under 18s cannot access it. There are a range of ways to do this."

Tyla has contacted Ofcom for comment.