After the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act went into effect on Friday, requiring porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verification mechanisms, use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools spiked in the UK over the weekend.

But this creates a knock-on problem: underage users relying on unvetted free virtual private networks (VPNs) to get back on their favorite platforms. UK residents are using VPNs to change their apparent locations to other countries and circumvent the Online Safety Act.

Virtual private network (VPN) apps have become the most downloaded on Apple's App Store in the UK after sites such as PornHub, Reddit and X began requiring age verification of users on Friday. VPNs can disguise your location online - allowing you to use the internet as though you are in another country.