People in the UK started reaching for VPNs long before the Online Safety Act

If you were to ask someone why they think that VPN use has increased in the UK, they'd probably tell you that it is as a consequence of the Online Safety Act. This change in law requires internet users to verify their age by uploading their ID before they can access adult content, which, of course, many people are uncomfortable with. However, the truth is that interest in VPNs started to grow a while before that.

A lot of people did get a VPN to avoid these restrictions, but independent research by Cybernews has established that the growth in UK VPN use has been steady for the last five years, with a 24.08% increase seen in 2024 alone. The country is currently ranked 8th in the worldwide VPN adoption rankings, based on Google Play and Apple App Store downloads. In the first half of 2025, the UK clocked 10.7 million VPN app downloads, although the data doesn't make it clear whether people are using the best VPNs or random free options.

Since the study was primarily based on mobile downloads, there are two things to consider. Firstly, there are a lot of people who use VPNs on other devices, so this isn't a comprehensive look at the UK's VPN industry. Secondly, a lot of the dodgy free VPNs that I love to warn you about are included in that data, and since they're wolves in VPN clothing, rather than genuine VPNs, the numbers really only reflect those who are interested in using a VPN, rather than those who are using legit ones.

Over the past few months, we've seen how these "free" VPNs have been secretly capturing browsing data, or hiding malware, and our advice is always the same: avoid free VPNs and use a quality VPN from a trusted provider like NordVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, or ExpressVPN instead.

Cybernews has determined that the overall increase in VPN adoption worldwide has been growing since 2021, with regions with "state-level internet restrictions" showing overwhelming VPN use. While the UK has a 21% average adoption rate over the past five years, the United Arab Emirates has an incredible 65.78% average rate, topping the table. Of course, this also coincides with the COVID pandemic and people working from home more, which may be a factor.

If you need help deciding on a VPN, you might like to know that our preferred VPN partner is NordVPN, and we would recommend you check their service first. It's a speedy and reliable service that works hard to protect customer data.