We’ve all seen the news headlines fixated on the surge of VPN downloads—reporting a 1800% in UK VPN traffic following the UK’s Online Safety Act enforcement on 25 July. But while VPN avoidance dominates the narrative, it obscures a far more important trend: millions of UK adults are already using trusted age-verification systems.
While mainstream coverage highlights evasion, the reality is that a considerable number of UK adults are getting behind the need for age verification on age-restricted websites. The AVPA's Executive Director, Iain Corby, said there have been an additional five million checks per day on adult websites alone since the OSA deadline for age verification came into effect. These methods include (but are not limited to) mobile number verification, bank-based verification, photo-ID uploads, biometric face scans, credit card checks, digital identity wallets, and email-based estimation—all compliant with Ofcom’s “highly effective” requirements under the Online Safety Act.
To put the scale of this adoption in context, OneID® alone, which provides two of the most privacy-preserving age checks, has seen a 3,000% increase in usage - handling 140 requests a second at peak periods. This significant uptake shows a large segment of the population is content to verify their age via trusted vendors. Another age estimation solution - which uses facial scans - was the second most downloaded app.
Many free VPN providers harvest and sell sensitive data (search logs, device identifiers and other personal information). Some leaks and investigations show millions of user records exposed or made available for resale. Users who rely on VPNs to bypass protections (for example, to avoid age verification) often turn to unvetted services that can inject malware, act as conduits for phishing/malvertising, or track and monetise behaviour without consent.
Likewise, adults who believe a VPN automatically enhances privacy may instead be funnelling their activity into mass data-collection pipelines run by unregulated operators — so using a free or unknown VPN can worsen rather than reduce fraud and privacy risk.
What should you keep in mind when verifying your age online?
Age checks are going to be more commonplace going forward, with an aim to protect children from harmful content. Here are some of the things you should look for when using an age verification service.
Open Banking-based Verification
Our Online Safety Age Assurance Buyer's Guide is all you need to compare different age assurance methods, learn which measure is compliant in which region, and what privacy-preserving and seamless age checks should look like.
Concerns about privacy and intrusive data-sharing are understandable given current misinformation, but ultimately misplaced. Fears that age verification solutions collect personal data and will be used to track your activities are unfounded.
The real danger comes from going after evasive measures like VPNs, which could open the way for data and financial fraud. What’s worse, this bypass could expose children to harmful content online — exactly the kind of risk the Online Safety Act was designed to prevent.
Despite media noise, most UK adults are knowingly and willingly adopting robust verification, while the small minority avoiding checks risk greater harm—trading trusted, regulator-approved systems for tools that could compromise both their privacy and security.
About OneID®
OneID® is the only UK Identity Service that uses bank-verified data to create absolute certainty between a business and its customers in a fast, simple, secure and truly digital way.
Along with bank-verified data, we also offer businesses the flexibility to choose from trusted data sources, like mobile network operators, government identity documents, and our own digital identity wallet—depending on the business and compliance needs they have to meet.
OneID®’s real-time verification solutions balance digital ease with the strongest counter-fraud measures. It seamlessly blends into the digital habits of today’s customers, enabling businesses to verify 98% of UK adults with minimal friction and maximum confidence.
In addition to identity verification, OneID® simplifies age verification, Direct Debit setup and customer and employee onboarding. By streamlining these processes, OneID® partners businesses implement key regulations like the Online Safety Act, reduce operational costs, improve customer engagement, and drive growth.
OneID® is a government-certified, FCA-regulated, and a B Corp business committed to making the digital world safer. Headquartered in the UK, we’ve brought together experts in Digital Identity, Payments, Banking, Technology, and Government to help businesses build trust and security at scale.