When an adult website spots the UK IP address of someone looking to browse the website from the UK
When an adult website spots the UK IP address of someone looking to browse the website from the UK, it serves them the new age verification barrier. If, however, that UK visitor installs a VPN, they can connect to a server in another country first to make the adult website think they’re from a different nation where strict age verification isn’t required, and it will allow them to pass instead.
(Image credit: Getty Images / NurPhoto)
Age restrictions on downloading and using VPN apps
There are no age restrictions on downloading and using VPN apps for this purpose and, indeed, there are many free VPNs that do the job, if in a more limited way. That means children and adults alike can use them to get around any age checks without even having to pay.
As well as defeating the object of the Online Safety Act in one fell swoop, there’s a further risk, because there are thousands of VPNs available, and most of them are not safe to use.
The free VPNs are a particular problem. While some free VPNs, such as Proton VPN, PrivadoVPN Free, and Windscribe Free, are secure and offer no-logs policies you can trust, there are many that sell user data, or simply act to leave devices open to malicious attack. 2024 saw a massive surge in these kinds of dangerous free VPNs.
Government stance on VPNs
The UK government has said it has no plans to ban VPNs, so here it’s up to parents to make sure their children are blocked from downloading them.
What to do if you’re worried about your data
As it stands, we’d advise that people in the UK do not trust the current age verification systems where linking your browsing data to your ID feels too sensitive.
While the privacy and security credentials of the agencies involved are unknown, it doesn’t seem to be a risk worth taking.
If the sites and services you’re looking to access are places that advertise alcohol, or are mainstream social media sites, you may find it more acceptable to hand over some personal information.
But until that time, it’s a case of doing your own due diligence. Find out which age-verification third party a web service uses before you choose to use it, and decide for yourself based on its track record and its data-logging policies whether you feel it’s safe.
We look forward to Ofcom and the UK government taking a second look at age verification. Until that time, we’ll just have to accept the Online Safety Act as written.