Ofcom VPN Adoption UK: Can Ofcom Track or Monitor VPN Use?
Ofcom has been collecting data about VPN use in the UK as part of its wider work under the Online Safety Act. That has led to a lot of confusion about what Ofcom actually knows about VPN users, whether it can track individual people, and whether using a VPN could eventually become restricted in the UK.
The short answer is that Ofcom does monitor VPN adoption at an aggregated level, but this is not the same as monitoring individual VPN users. Ofcom has said that the VPN data it uses for this work does not contain personal or user-level information. Instead, it is used to understand broader patterns such as VPN adoption, usage levels and market trends.
The issue has become more important because UK online safety rules now require certain services to introduce highly effective age assurance, while Ofcom is also researching how VPNs are being used and how they may affect the effectiveness of those protections.
Quick answer: Is Ofcom tracking VPN users?
Ofcom is monitoring VPN adoption and usage trends, not personally tracking individual VPN users through the data it has publicly described.
Ofcom vpn has confirmed that it uses third-party data from Apptopia to analyse VPN usage. It says the information it uses is aggregated at app level and does not include personally identifiable or user-level information. Ofcom describes this work as part of its role as the UK’s online safety regulator and says it uses VPN adoption information to understand market trends and traffic volumes.
That distinction matters.
There is a major difference between asking:
How many people in the UK are using VPN apps?
and:
Which person is using a VPN right now, and what are they doing online?
The first is the type of aggregated measurement Ofcom has described. The second would involve individual-level monitoring, which Ofcom has not said it is carrying out through its VPN-adoption dataset.
What does Ofcom know about VPN use in the UK?
Ofcom has published data showing a substantial increase in UK daily active VPN app users around the introduction of online age-check requirements in July 2025.
Its 2025 Online Nation report, based on Apptopia data, showed UK daily active VPN app users rising from roughly 680,000 in mid-July to around 1.5 million in early August 2025 before falling over the following months. The figures cover people using VPN apps on mobile devices and therefore do not represent all VPN use across desktop computers and other devices.
Ofcom has separately explained that its VPN-adoption analysis is based on aggregated data rather than personal information.
This is why the phrase “Ofcom VPN monitoring” can be misleading if it is interpreted as surveillance of individual users.
Ofcom is interested in the scale and pattern of VPN adoption because VPNs can change how online services identify a user’s location and can potentially affect the operation of UK online safety measures.
Why is Ofcom interested in VPNs?
The main reason is the UK’s Online Safety Act and its requirements around protecting children from harmful online content.
Certain services in scope of the Act must assess whether children are likely to use their services and, where required, implement protections including highly effective age assurance. Ofcom’s guidance covers services such as user-to-user platforms and pornography services, with different duties applying depending on the type of service.
A VPN can hide a user’s apparent IP location by routing their connection through a different server. That means a website may not see the user’s actual UK IP address.
Ofcom recognises this issue. Its guidance explains that VPNs can allow people to access services without revealing their location and may therefore allow users to avoid protections or IP-based access restrictions in some circumstances.
That does not, however, mean that VPNs themselves are prohibited.
Does the Online Safety Act ban VPNs?
No. The Online Safety Act does not require all VPN traffic to be blocked.
Ofcom’s own statement on age assurance specifically addresses VPNs and says the Part 3 and Part 5 duties do not require services to block all traffic from VPNs or similar private-network technologies. It also states that VPNs are lawful to use in the UK.
This is an important distinction because some online discussions have blurred together three separate issues:
- VPNs being legal to use.
- Websites trying to prevent users from bypassing age checks.
- Ofcom measuring VPN adoption.
Those are not the same thing.
The fact that Ofcom studies VPN usage does not automatically create a ban on VPN services.
Can Ofcom see what you do through a VPN?
There is no evidence in Ofcom’s published VPN-monitoring information that its VPN-adoption dataset gives it access to individual users’ browsing activity.
Ofcom has said that the data used for its VPN analysis is aggregated and does not contain personal or user-level information. Its January 2026 response to an information request also identified Apptopia as the third-party provider used to estimate daily VPN users.
A VPN itself is designed to separate the destination websites you visit from your internet service provider’s normal view of your connection. However, that does not mean VPN use makes someone completely anonymous.
A VPN provider can potentially have information about a connection depending on its architecture, logging practices and legal obligations. Websites can also identify users through accounts, cookies, browser characteristics and other technologies independently of the IP address.
So “Ofcom can see that VPN usage is increasing” should not be interpreted as “Ofcom can see everything every VPN user is doing.”
Does Ofcom track VPN usage?
Yes, in the sense that Ofcom has analysed aggregate VPN usage and adoption data.
Ofcom’s Freedom of Information responses explain that its analysis has used data supplied by Apptopia and that the information concerns market trends and traffic volumes rather than personal data.
Ofcom has also published research specifically examining children’s use of VPNs. Its 2026 research programme includes data on how frequently children aged 11–17 use VPNs and what activities they associate with VPN use.
This research helps explain why searches around Ofcom monitoring VPNs, Ofcom tracking UK VPN use, and UK age verification VPNs have become more prominent.
Why did VPN use increase after UK age checks?
The timing is significant.
UK online safety age-check requirements for certain services came into force in 2025. Ofcom subsequently reported a sharp increase in daily active VPN app users around late July and early August 2025. Its published chart shows daily active VPN app users reaching roughly 1.5 million in early August before declining later in the year.
The increase does not prove that every additional VPN user was attempting to bypass an age check.
People use VPNs for many legitimate reasons, including privacy, security, travel, remote work and accessing services while abroad.
Ofcom itself recognises that VPNs have legitimate uses. Its online-safety material describes VPNs as commonly used in the UK and notes their potential privacy and anonymity benefits.
Therefore, VPN adoption data should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of unlawful behaviour.
Can a VPN bypass UK age verification?
A VPN can change the apparent location associated with an internet connection, but using a VPN does not guarantee that an age check will disappear.
Online services can use different methods to determine age or location. Ofcom’s highly effective age-assurance guidance includes methods such as digital identity services, facial age estimation, mobile-network checks, open banking, photo-ID matching and other approaches.
Ofcom has also specifically addressed VPN and TOR circumvention. Its guidance says services should take appropriate steps to mitigate easily accessible circumvention methods where it is reasonable to expect children may use them.
The important point is that the law places duties primarily on regulated services, rather than creating a general requirement for every VPN user to prove their age.
Is it illegal to use a VPN to get around an age check?
The situation is more nuanced than simply saying “VPNs are illegal.”
Ofcom’s published statement says VPNs and similar private-network technologies are lawful to use in the UK and that the Online Safety Act does not require services to block all VPN traffic.
At the same time, Ofcom says regulated services should not publish or promote content that encourages UK users to circumvent age-assurance processes or access controls.
That means the legal obligations can fall on the service and its content, rather than turning ordinary VPN ownership into an offence.
Anyone dealing with a specific legal situation should check the current legislation and professional legal advice rather than relying on a general internet article.
Can Ofcom force VPN companies to verify users’ ages?
Ofcom’s existing age-assurance framework does not generally impose a requirement on VPN providers to age-check their own users.
Ofcom’s age-assurance statement explicitly says that the relevant Part 3 and Part 5 duties do not require providers to block all VPN traffic, and that there are no duties in those provisions requiring VPN or private-network services to age-assure their own users.
That distinction is important because online discussions sometimes describe age verification for regulated websites as though it automatically means every VPN customer must also verify their identity.
That is not what the current Ofcom guidance says.
Does Ofcom know how many people use VPNs?
Ofcom has access to estimates of VPN app usage.
Its 2025 Online Nation report used Apptopia data to show daily active VPN app users in the UK. Ofcom has also said that its VPN data is aggregated and does not contain personally identifiable or user-level information.
The figures should not be treated as an exact count of every VPN user in Britain.
The published Apptopia figures specifically relate to VPN app users on mobile devices, so desktop VPN users are not included in that particular dataset.
What Reddit users are concerned about
Public discussions on Reddit show why the subject has generated so much confusion.
Some users interpreted the rise in VPN downloads following UK age-check changes as a sign that the government might eventually restrict VPNs. Others were primarily concerned about whether a VPN protects them from government or ISP tracking. More recent discussions have also focused on possible restrictions connected with the UK’s wider debate around age limits and online services.
Those discussions are useful for understanding what people are asking, but they should not be treated as evidence of what UK law actually says.
The official Ofcom material is much clearer: VPNs are lawful to use, Ofcom has analysed aggregated VPN adoption data, and the Online Safety Act does not require blanket blocking of VPN traffic.
What Ofcom’s VPN monitoring actually means
It is useful to separate the issue into three levels:
Level 1 — VPN adoption:
Ofcom can analyse data showing how widely VPN apps are being used.
Level 2 — Aggregate trends:
The regulator can examine changes in usage over time and use that information to understand how people are responding to online-safety rules.
Level 3 — Individual surveillance:
This would involve identifying a particular VPN user and monitoring their personal online activity. Ofcom’s published VPN-adoption information says the data it uses for this analysis is aggregated and does not contain personal or user-level information.
Confusing these three levels is one of the main reasons claims about Ofcom tracking VPN users can sound more alarming than the underlying evidence supports.
What could change in the future?
Online safety regulation is still developing.
Ofcom’s 2026 age-assurance work shows that regulators are continuing to evaluate how effective age checks are and how services deal with circumvention. Ofcom’s latest report says services using age assurance must ensure it is highly effective and should address weaknesses including circumvention risks.
Ofcom is also continuing to research VPN use, including children’s use of VPNs and attitudes towards online safety measures.
That means the practical relationship between VPNs, age assurance and online safety may continue to evolve.
For now, however, the evidence supports a more limited conclusion: Ofcom is measuring VPN adoption to understand online behaviour and the effectiveness of online-safety measures; that is not the same as a system for personally tracking every VPN user.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ofcom monitoring VPNs in the UK?
Yes. Ofcom has analysed aggregated VPN usage and adoption data as part of its online-safety work. It has identified Apptopia as a source for its VPN usage analysis and says the data does not contain personal or user-level information.
Can Ofcom see my VPN activity?
Ofcom’s published VPN-adoption information does not indicate that it receives individual users’ browsing activity through that dataset. Ofcom says the data is aggregated and does not contain personal or user-level information.
Are VPNs legal in the UK?
Yes. Ofcom’s age-assurance statement explicitly describes VPNs and similar private-network technologies as lawful to use in the UK.
Does the Online Safety Act ban VPNs?
No. Ofcom says the Online Safety Act does not require services to block all traffic from VPNs or similar private-network technologies.
Can a VPN bypass UK age verification?
A VPN can change the apparent location of a connection, but it does not necessarily bypass an age-assurance system. Services can use other methods to determine age or apply access controls, and Ofcom expects regulated services to mitigate accessible circumvention methods where appropriate.
Does Ofcom monitor children’s VPN use?
Ofcom is researching children’s VPN use. Its 2026 research programme includes data on VPN use among children aged 11–17 and related online activities.
How many people in the UK use VPNs?
Ofcom’s 2025 Online Nation report showed daily active VPN app users rising to around 1.5 million in early August 2025 before declining later in the year. Those figures cover mobile VPN app users and should not be treated as a complete count of every VPN user in the UK.
The bottom line
Ofcom is monitoring VPN adoption in the UK, but that does not mean it is personally tracking every VPN user.
The regulator has used aggregated third-party data to estimate VPN app usage and understand changes in online behaviour. Ofcom says the data used for this analysis contains no personal or user-level information.
The wider issue is closely connected to the UK’s Online Safety Act and the introduction of highly effective age assurance for certain online services. VPNs can make location-based controls harder for websites to enforce, which is why Ofcom is interested in how they are being used.
But the current rules do not amount to a blanket VPN ban. Ofcom’s own guidance says VPNs are lawful to use in the UK and that the Online Safety Act does not require services to block all VPN traffic.
The safest way to understand the issue is therefore to separate VPN adoption research, age-verification enforcement and individual surveillance. They are related, but they are not the same thing.