New adult website age verification measures are leading users to Proton VPN. The VPN provider has noted a 1,400% surge in hourly sign-ups on Friday, July 25, aligning with the UK’s age verification law enactment. This data is sourced from a monitoring page on the Proton VPN website that tracks such spikes. The new law requires sites and applications featuring explicit content to verify a user’s age through methods such as facial recognition and banking details, aimed at stopping minors from accessing this content.

Interest in “Proton VPN” surged in the UK around 2 a.m. BST on Friday, as illustrated by a Google Trends graph. Proton VPN posted this graph on X, remarking, “Pretty sure it’s not the footy this time…”

Earlier, Proton VPN experienced a 1,000% rise in new subscribers in June following Pornhub’s exit from France. Mashable has reached out to Proton VPN for a comment.

This story is ongoing.