Is Pornhub blocked in the UK?
Yes. Pornhub has blocked the UK since February 2, 2026 (except for existing accounts and Apple-verified iPhones). The UK's Online Safety Act took effect July 25, 2025.
Since 25 July 2025, the Online Safety Act has required any site or app that lets UK users see pornography to use 'highly effective' age checks; sites that publish their own porn have been covered since January 2025. Ofcom has fined several adult-content providers, up to £1.4 million. Pornhub's owner Aylo stopped admitting new UK users on 2 February 2026, let back iPhone users verified by Apple from May 2026, and has been under Ofcom investigation over that Apple-based check since September 2026.
The law
| Status | Law in effect |
|---|---|
| Law | Online Safety Act: Online Safety Act 2023 (text) |
| Citation | 2023 c. 50 (age-assurance duties in s. 12 for user-to-user services and s. 81 for providers publishing their own pornographic content) |
| Passed | October 26, 2023 |
| In effect | July 25, 2025 |
| Regulator | Ofcom |
| Who it covers | Applies to services with links to the UK, wherever they are based. Providers that publish their own pornography (Part 5) have had to use highly effective age assurance since 17 January 2025. From 25 July 2025, user-to-user and search services that allow pornography (Part 3) must also use highly effective age assurance to stop children encountering it. |
| Accepted ID methods | photo-ID matching; facial age estimation; open banking; credit card checks; mobile network operator checks; digital identity services / wallets; email-based age estimation |
| Data rules | Age checks must comply with UK data protection law (UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018), overseen by the ICO. Ofcom guidance requires methods to be technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair. Self-declaration does not count as highly effective. |
| Enforcement | Ofcom has run an age-assurance enforcement programme for pornography since 16 January 2025, extended to Part 3 services on 25 July 2025. Its tools include information notices, provisional notices and confirmation decisions with fines and daily penalties. Ofcom can also apply to court for business disruption measures (e.g. requiring payment providers, advertisers or ISPs to withdraw services). By July 2026 Ofcom reported 23 investigations into 88 adult services, about 73% of which had added age checks or blocked UK users, with seven providers fined. |
| Penalties | Fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, plus daily penalties for continuing non-compliance. Courts can impose business disruption orders. |
Why is Pornhub blocked in the UK?
Aylo introduced Ofcom-compliant age checks in July 2025, then from 2 February 2026 stopped admitting new UK users, saying the law had pushed traffic to unregulated sites. Users who had already verified their age kept access through their accounts. On 5 May 2026 Aylo began readmitting UK users on iOS 26.4 or later who have confirmed they are adults through Apple's built-in age check. New users on Android, computers and other devices remain locked out, so most new adult visitors cannot get in. Ofcom opened an investigation into the Apple-based check on 22 September 2026; Aylo said it would cooperate.
When did Pornhub block the UK?
Pornhub stopped serving the UK on February 2, 2026. The UK's Online Safety Act took effect July 25, 2025.
What does Online Safety Act require?
Applies to services with links to the UK, wherever they are based. Providers that publish their own pornography (Part 5) have had to use highly effective age assurance since 17 January 2025. From 25 July 2025, user-to-user and search services that allow pornography (Part 3) must also use highly effective age assurance to stop children encountering it.
Enforcement: Ofcom has run an age-assurance enforcement programme for pornography since 16 January 2025, extended to Part 3 services on 25 July 2025. Its tools include information notices, provisional notices and confirmation decisions with fines and daily penalties. Ofcom can also apply to court for business disruption measures (e.g. requiring payment providers, advertisers or ISPs to withdraw services). By July 2026 Ofcom reported 23 investigations into 88 adult services, about 73% of which had added age checks or blocked UK users, with seven providers fined.
How do I verify my age for adult sites in the UK?
The UK's Online Safety Act accepts these methods: photo-ID matching; facial age estimation; open banking; credit card checks; mobile network operator checks; digital identity services / wallets; email-based age estimation. Each site chooses which ones to offer.
Can porn sites keep my ID in the UK?
Age checks must comply with UK data protection law (UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018), overseen by the ICO. Ofcom guidance requires methods to be technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair. Self-declaration does not count as highly effective.
Timeline
- Online Safety Act 2023 receives Royal Assent. [2]
- Age-assurance duties for user-to-user and search services that allow pornography take effect (sites publishing their own porn were covered from January 2025). [3]
- Ofcom fines AVS Group Ltd £1,050,000 (£1m for the age-assurance breach and £50,000 for an information request). [3]
- Pornhub stops admitting new UK users; existing verified account holders keep access. [7]
- Ofcom fines Kick Online Entertainment S.A. £830,000. [3]
- Ofcom fines 8579 LLC £1,400,000 (£1.35m for the age-assurance breach and £50,000), with a £1,000 daily penalty. [3]
- Aylo announces it is readmitting UK users on iOS 26.4 or later who have confirmed their age through Apple's built-in check; other new users stay locked out. [9]
- Ofcom fines Youngtek Solutions Ltd £600,000. [3]
- Ofcom's June bulletin reports fines for First Time Videos LLC (£80,000) and 4chan (£540,000 in total, partly for failing to use highly effective age assurance). [5]
- Ofcom opens an investigation into whether Aylo's Apple-based age check for Pornhub is highly effective and was properly tested. [6]
Courts and enforcement
- Itai Tech Ltd fined £55,000 (s. 81 and information-request breach); investigation later closed after it geoblocked the UK (Ofcom). fined. Source
- AVS Group Ltd fined £1,050,000 (£1m for age-assurance breach + £50k for information request) (Ofcom, Dec 3, 2025). fined. Source
- Kick Online Entertainment S.A. fined £830,000 (Ofcom, Feb 11, 2026). fined. Source
- 8579 LLC fined £1,400,000 (£1.35m age-assurance breach + £50k), with £1,000 daily penalty (Ofcom, Feb 20, 2026). fined. Source
- Youngtek Solutions Ltd fined £600,000 (Ofcom, May 26, 2026). fined. Source
- First Time Videos LLC fined £80,000; 4chan fined £540,000 in total (partly for failing to use highly effective age assurance) (Ofcom, Jun 29, 2026). fined (reported in June 2026 industry bulletin). Source
- Statutory report on the use of age assurance (one year on) (Ofcom, Jul 15, 2026). published. Source
- Investigation into Aylo Freesites Ltd (Pornhub) under ss. 12 and 36: whether the Apple-based age check it introduced in May 2026 is highly effective, whether it tested it enough before launch, and its children's access assessment (Ofcom, Sep 22, 2026). open; no breach found yet. Source
Bills to watch
- Ofcom investigation into Aylo. Whether Pornhub's reliance on Apple's device-level age check meets the 'highly effective' standard and whether Aylo tested it enough; Ofcom says it is not ruling on how Apple runs its own checks. open (since 22 September 2026)
- Ofcom report on app-store protections. Statutory report on app-store-level child protections, including age assurance. due by January 2027
Related laws
- Digital Economy Act 2017, Part 3. An earlier age-verification regime for commercial porn sites that the government abandoned in 2019 before it took effect; replaced by the Online Safety Act.
Sources
- Online Safety Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk) (legislation.gov.uk) Statute · Oct 26, 2023
- Online Safety Act 2023: introductory text as enacted (Royal Assent 26 October 2023) (legislation.gov.uk) Statute · Oct 26, 2023
- Enforcement Programme to protect children from encountering pornographic content through the use of age assurance (ofcom.org.uk) Regulator · May 27, 2026
- Age checks helping make online experiences safer for UK children, but job not done (ofcom.org.uk) Regulator · Jul 15, 2026
- Online Safety industry bulletin – June 2026 (ofcom.org.uk) Regulator · Jun 29, 2026
- Investigation into Aylo's compliance with the duty to prevent children from encountering pornographic content through the use of age assurance (Ofcom) (ofcom.org.uk) Regulator · Sep 23, 2026
- Pornhub to restrict access to new users in the UK from next week, company says (Euronews) (euronews.com) News · Jan 28, 2026
- If you live in the UK, you probably won't be able to visit Pornhub anymore (TechCrunch) (techcrunch.com) News · Jan 27, 2026
- The iPhone advantage: why Pornhub is welcoming Apple users back to the platform (Forbes, via Yahoo News) (sg.news.yahoo.com) News · May 6, 2026
- Pornhub owner reverses age restrictions for some UK users (Attitude) (attitude.co.uk) News · May 6, 2026
- British regulator takes a hard look at Pornhub's Apple-powered age checks (The Register) (theregister.com) News · Sep 23, 2026
- Aylo's device-level age checks may not meet 'highly-effective' bar: UK regulator (Biometric Update) (biometricupdate.com) News · Sep 24, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Last verified October 26, 2026 by the Editorial Team. See something wrong or out of date? Report a correction. How we work: methodology.