Why VPNs Make Age Verification Harder for Websites

Key Takeaways:

• More people are turning to VPNs because new age-verification steps feel intrusive, inconvenient, or unclear about how personal data is handled. Users see VPNs as a simple way to avoid extra friction while maintaining a sense of privacy and control.
• A VPN can often bypass age checks by making a user appear to be in a region where those rules do not apply. This does not affect the user’s actual age, but it can prevent the system from triggering the appropriate verification flow.
• If age-verification systems collected less personal data and relied more on privacy-preserving, device-based proofs, fewer users would feel the need to hide behind VPNs. A more trusted and less intrusive infrastructure would shrink the incentive to mask location in the first place.

Introduction: How VPNs Became the Silent Loophole in Age Verification

Virtual private networks have become a normal part of online life. Industry trackers report more than 130 million VPN downloads in the first half of 2025, a clear sign that millions of people now rely on tools that hide their real location or network identity. This rise is happening at the same time governments and platforms are introducing stricter requirements that force websites to confirm a user’s age before granting access.

That overlap has created a challenge few anticipated. Age-gated services often depend on a visitor’s IP address to understand what laws apply in their region and whether a verification step must appear. When someone connects through a VPN, that basic signal becomes unreliable. A user can appear to be in another country, under a different set of regulations, or outside the scope of a region’s age-verification rules altogether.

The result is a widening blind spot. Platforms are trying to follow new safety laws, prevent underage access, and curb abusive behavior, yet VPNs make it harder to understand who is actually on the other side of the screen. Many people turn to VPNs for ordinary privacy reasons, but others rely on them to avoid checks entirely.

This article explores how VPNs became an unexpected loophole in age-verification systems, why adoption is climbing as new regulations take effect, and what platforms can do to close the gap without undermining user privacy.

Why VPN Traffic Is Surging Under New Age Verification Laws

New age-verification rules are changing how people access online content. Countries like the United Kingdom and several regions in the United States and Europe now require platforms to confirm a user’s age before allowing access to adult content, social features, gaming, and other restricted services. These rules are meant to protect minors, but they have also led to a rise in VPN use in ways many expected only after the fact.

After the UK began enforcing stronger age checks under the Online Safety Act, VPN companies reported noticeable increases in traffic from within the country. Similar spikes appeared in US states that introduced new requirements. For many users, turning on a VPN became an easy way to avoid extra steps in the sign-in or browsing process.

Privacy concerns also play a major role. People worry about platforms tracking their activity, storing sensitive documents, or keeping data that could be exposed in a breach. A VPN gives them a way to avoid sharing more personal information than they feel comfortable with.

Convenience matters too. Changing locations inside a VPN app takes only a moment, and many users prefer that quick option instead of completing multiple verification steps.

Together, these factors have made VPNs a common workaround during the rollout of new age-verification laws. As governments add more requirements, this trend will likely continue unless age checks become easier, safer, and less intrusive for users.

How VPNs Bypass Age Verification

VPNs bypass age verification by replacing the location signals that platforms use to determine which regional rules apply. When a VPN hides the user’s actual region, the platform may not trigger the correct age-verification flow.

Below are the main ways VPNs bypass age verification:

1. IP Masking

A VPN substitutes the user’s real IP address with one from the VPN provider, making the user appear to be in a different region. If that region does not require age checks, the platform may skip verification.

2. Remote Servers and Location Obfuscation

Routing traffic through servers in other countries has the same effect. The platform sees the VPN server’s location instead of the user’s own, so the age gate may not appear in places where the rules are lighter.

3. Residential Proxies

Some VPN and proxy services route traffic through residential IP addresses that resemble ordinary home networks. These IPs make masked traffic harder to identify, allowing users to pass through systems that look for suspicious or unusual network patterns.

Are Users Breaking the Law When They Bypass Age Verification with a VPN?

Many people use VPNs to get around age checks without considering the legal implications. It often feels like a small shortcut, but it falls into a grey area that lawmakers are watching more closely. Most age-verification laws were written with the expectation that platforms would block underage access based on regional rules. VPN usage introduces uncertainty into how those obligations should be applied, and governments have begun exploring how to address this gap.

Below are the main developments shaping the legal discussion:

1. Proposed Laws and Legislative Discussions

Lawmakers in several regions are reviewing how VPNs affect age-restricted platforms. In the United States, Michigan introduced House Bill 4938, which would prohibit using or providing VPN services when the purpose is to bypass age-verification requirements for adult content. Other states have discussed similar concepts. None amount to a national policy, and most remain in early debate, but they show that the legal landscape is still shifting.

In the United Kingdom, regulators enforcing the Online Safety Act are examining how effectively platforms apply age-assurance measures. The government has said it does not plan to ban VPNs, and ordinary VPN use remains legal.

Some countries, inlcuding Myanmar, already restrict unauthorized VPNs under broader cybersecurity or censorship laws. These measures are not focused on age verification, but they show how VPN usage can fall under regulation depending on the jurisdiction.

2. The Legal Risk for Platforms vs. Users

For platforms, age-verification laws place responsibility on the service provider rather than the user. Platforms must show that they have taken effective steps to prevent minors from accessing restricted content and must demonstrate compliance if regulators request evidence. If an underage user bypasses a required age check with a VPN, the platform may still face scrutiny if its system is judged insufficient.

For users, VPNs are legal in most democratic regions, and bypassing an age check is not treated as a standalone offense. Legal issues arise only when a VPN is used to access content that is restricted under separate laws, such as gambling, licensed media, or adult material in certain jurisdictions. Consequences typically involve violating a platform’s terms of service, losing account access, or facing civil penalties. No major democratic jurisdictions criminalize VPN use by minors specifically. Criminal penalties appear only in countries where VPN restrictions are tied to political or national-security concerns.

3. Policy and Privacy Tensions

There is growing interest among lawmakers in reducing the ability to bypass age-verification requirements with VPNs. However, proposals that restrict VPN usage raise significant privacy and civil rights concerns.

Digital rights advocates warn that broad restrictions on VPNs could:

• weaken online privacy
• disrupt legitimate uses such as security, journalism, or remote work
• expand government surveillance powers
• create new forms of censorship

Because of these concerns, most democratic governments remain cautious about regulating VPNs directly. Instead, they focus on strengthening platform-level age-verification systems without undermining legitimate privacy tools.

How to Detect VPN Use and Strengthen Age Verification

Location signals alone are no longer enough to decide when an age check should occur. VPNs can easily change or hide a user’s apparent region, so systems need additional signals that indicate when a connection may be masked or when a stronger verification step is appropriate. These methods do not identify the user. They simply help the platform understand whether the information it receives is reliable. Some common ways to detect VPN usage include:

1. Multi-Signal Risk Checks

Most identity systems evaluate several simple indicators rather than depending on one piece of information. These signals can include device type, basic network behavior, account history, and whether a connection suddenly appears to originate from a distant location. When these signals conflict, the system can require a stronger age check.

2. Checking Known VPN and Proxy Ranges

Security providers maintain updated lists of IP addresses linked to VPNs, proxies, and hosting services. Platforms can compare incoming traffic against these lists to determine when a user may be masking their location. A match does not block the user automatically. It simply signals that the IP data may not be trustworthy and that an additional verification step may be needed.

3. Identifying Conflicting or Unusual Signals

If a system detects unusual patterns, such as rapid region changes or inconsistent device details, it may treat the session as higher risk. This helps identify when a VPN or proxy might be involved, even when residential IP addresses or other evasion methods are used.

4. Determining Region Without Relying Only on IP

When IP information is unclear, platforms can use other simple indicators to understand which legal rules apply. These can include information tied to a payment method, mobile network details, or previously verified regional credentials. These signals help determine the correct jurisdiction without collecting sensitive personal data.

These methods strengthen a platform’s ability to recognize when an age check should be triggered. However, they do not address the deeper issue. Many users turn to VPNs because they want more control over their personal information. This is where privacy-focused age-verification approaches become essential.

How Privacy-First Approaches Reduce the Need for VPNs

Much of the growth in VPN use comes from people who do not fully trust how platforms handle their information during age checks. Concerns about data being stored, shared, or misused have increased, especially as data breaches become more common. When users feel unsure about what will happen to their personal details, they often turn to a VPN for extra protection.

A privacy-first approach to age verification helps solve this problem. Instead of collecting unnecessary personal data, these methods limit what is shared and give users more control. This allows platforms to meet legal requirements without gathering sensitive information.

Below are two approaches that reduce the need for VPN workarounds:

1. Trusted Age Proofs Stored on the Device

Verifiable credentials allow a trusted issuer to confirm that a user meets an age requirement and store that confirmation securely on the user’s device. When a platform asks for proof, the user shares only a cryptographic confirmation that they meet the requirement. The platform does not see the user’s name, birthdate, or any other personal details. Because the proof stays on the device, it can be reused across different services, and VPN usage has no effect on the verification process.

2. Selective Disclosure and Minimal Data Sharing

Selective disclosure allows users to share only what is needed for an age check. Instead of uploading an ID or submitting personal information, the user presents a simple confirmation such as “18 or older.” Many systems can verify this locally on the device, which reduces data exposure and strengthens user privacy. This builds trust in the process and lowers the incentive to hide behind a VPN.

The Path Forward for Age Verification in a VPN-Dominated Landscape

VPNs will remain part of how people navigate the internet, especially when they feel watched or unsure about how their information is being handled. This is the core challenge for age verification. Systems that rely on collecting large amounts of data give users more reasons to avoid them.

A more sustainable path is one that reduces the need to hide anything at all. Privacy-focused tools that limit data exposure and keep sensitive details on the user’s device offer a practical way forward. They show that strong protection and a smooth user experience can coexist. When users know their information is limited and handled safely, the need to rely on a VPN fades on its own.