Pornhub to introduce stricter age checks in the UK

Pornhub will roll out stricter age verification checks from next month, its parent company Aylo has confirmed.

The move comes in response to UK regulator Ofcom setting a deadline of July 2025 for platforms hosting adult content to implement highly effective age assurance measures.

These new regulations fall under the Online Safety Act, aiming to prevent children from accessing explicit material online.

Under the new regulations, websites will have to verify user age through methods including ID photo checks, credit card verification, mobile network age checks and facial age estimation.

Aylo, which owns Pornhub along with platforms like Stripchat and Streamate, said it will adopt “government-approved age assurance methods” but has not yet detailed exactly how users will be required to prove they are over 18.

Ofcom is overseeing the rollout of the new regulations and has warned that platforms failing to comply could face hefty fines ,up to £18 million or 10 per cent of global revenue.

Currently many adult websites rely on the users simply clicking a button to confirm their age – an approach that UK media regulator Oxfcom has deemed insufficient.

Ofcom previously welcomed the new regulation, stating “it would bring online pornography into line with how we treat adult services in the real world”, BBC reported.

Pornhub, the UK’s most visited adult website according to SImilarweb, has faced global scrutiny over its safeguards.

In May , the European Commission launched an investigation into the platform and others over child safety concerns.

Earlier this month, Pornhub has ceased operations in France over concerns about a new law in the country which requires stricter age verification for users accessing adult content online.

Alex Kekesi, the company’s vice-president of brand and community, criticised the French government’s insistence on site-based age verification, calling the system ‘ineffective, invasive and a threat to users’ privacy’.