Users could soon be back on 'Orange YouTube', as Pornhub is set to open its doors once again for an influx of horny internet surfers. While the likes of Google, YouTube, and Facebook remain the most visited sites on the internet, Pornhub rules the roost in terms of NSFW visits. Sitting under the umbrella of the Canadian multinational pornographic conglomerate called Aylo, its other sites include RedTube, YouPorn, Xtube, and more.
As you can imagine, Aylo wasn't too impressed when various governments demanded age verification systems to ensure minors are being kept away from risqué materials online. 2025 was a rough year for the likes of Pornhub, with the number of U.S. states where it's banned soaring, a brief blackout in France, threats of bans in Italy, and the United Kingdom arguably coming down the hardest as it insisted on third-party verification.
Why is Pornhub partially banned in the UK?
With the UK government determined to reinforce the Online Safety Act 2023, Aylo spoke out amid privacy concerns and also claimed that users will be funneled to other corners of the internet where porn isn't as regulated.
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The UK has also been making moves to recategorize 'choking' and 'strangulation' porn as a criminal offense, while Alex Kekesi, Aylo Head of Community and Brand, warned new users would soon be locked out: "Our sites, which host legal and regulated porn, will no longer be available in the UK to new users, but thousands of irresponsible porn sites will still be easy to access."
February 2 rolled around, and instead of fighting any longer, Aylo stuck to its word and prevented new users from being able to register – locking them out of Pornhub.
Aylo maintained that the OSA had throttled its traffic and Pornhub was losing up to one million visitors a day, while there was also a spike in VPN usage, which Aylo argued defeats the point of the OSA in general.
Now, the BBC confirms that Pornhub is ready to welcome new users in the UK...with a little help from Apple.
How is Apple bringing Pornhub back to the UK?
We're not sure how Apple would feel about being partially responsible for returning Pornhub to the UK, but thanks to the new iOS update including age checks for iPhone and iPad users, Aylo is satisfied with the new regime.
Aylo has been calling for device-level checks since the idea of age verification was first floated, saying this is the easiest way to stop underage users from accessing NSFW materials.
Celebrating the news, Kekesi said, "With the release of iOS 26.4 Apple has introduced the world's first ever device-based age verification solution for its users in the UK, a major first step towards a global solution that stands to better protect children everywhere."
"As a result, today Aylo welcomes eligible age-confirmed UK iOS users back to Pornhub."
Apple announced its age check changes in March 2026, with the latest update clarifying that a user is over the age of 18 by looking at how long they've had an Apple account, using information from connected payment methods, or by scanning their ID. UK regulator Ofcom has already called Apple's voluntary measures a 'real win' for strengthening the child safety rules online.
Anyone not registered on Pornhub has been greeted with SFW content since the start of February, but all of that's about to change. Kekesi says that Aylo has been working with Ofcom, which also says it's been "in close contact with Aylo, and will carefully scrutinise these changes."
Still, Ofcom says the responsibility "falls firmly on sites and apps," concluding: "Services can implement age checks at device account level, but they must be confident they can demonstrate to Ofcom their process is highly effective, and be ready to provide us with detailed information on this when we demand it."