Brits are circumventing UK age verification with VPNs and Death Stranding photos
Even Kojima didn't see this coming
By Daniel Sims July 26, 2025 at 12:26 PM 18 comments
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Cutting corners: When the United Kingdom began strictly enforcing age verification rules on all adult websites, many predicted a spike in VPN usage – and provider Proton now has the data to prove it. But another unusual and amusing workaround has also emerged.
Proton VPN reported a 1,400% increase in logins from the UK on Friday. The company attributed the surge to the stricter enforcement of the Online Safety Act, which mandates stringent ID checks for pornography websites. However, VPNs aren't the only effective method for accessing restricted sites and social media platforms.
The VPN provider also shared a chart showing that Google searches for "Proton" in the UK increased by nearly 100-fold on Friday. Other services, such as NordVPN, have likely also seen increased interest from British users trying to bypass restrictions via international servers.
Following the July 25 expansion of the Online Safety Act, Pornhub, XHamster, and other adult websites began displaying age verification gates when accessed from UK IP addresses. Reddit started enforcing the requirement earlier this month.
Clicking a button to confirm you're over 18 is no longer enough. The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, now requires age checks through photos, videos, credit cards, phone numbers, or ID cards.
Clicking a button to confirm you're over 18 is no longer enough.
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Proton also reported a 1,000% spike in logins from France in June after Pornhub blocked access for French users in response to similar legislation. Texas and several other US states have also begun enforcing age checks.
Discord has introduced a similar age gate in the UK for users attempting to change settings or access age-restricted channels, but users have already found a workaround.
The designers of the age verification system anticipated that people might submit photos of older adults to avoid sharing their own information. What they didn't anticipate was the increasing realism of modern video game photo modes.
Uploading a picture of well-known stock photo model András Arató (aka "Hide the Pain Harold") can pass the system's initial check, but it also requires users to open and close their mouths to prove they're real.
In response, one user shared screenshots from the game Death Stranding, which lets players manipulate facial expressions in its photo mode. PC Gamer confirmed the trick works by holding a phone camera up to a TV displaying the in-game footage.
The Online Safety Act has drawn criticism over privacy concerns, but the surge in VPN usage and other clever workarounds, shows that enforcing online age verification is proving difficult, if not impossible.
Politicians lack foresight today
