Pornhub, the world’s most popular porn site, has returned to Australia after Apple introduced a new age-verification process targeted at eliminating minors’ exposure to explicit content.
The adult site was barred from Australian devices in March after sweeping age-restricted safety codes came into effect.
Australia joins the United Kingdom in the latest roll-out of Apple’s age-verification standard after widespread concern related to children’s online safety.
A report released by the eSafety Commission in 2023 found about 10 per cent of children accidentally came across online pornography by the age of 10.
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The number climbed to almost 30 per cent by age 13.
In 2026, eSafety said it was prioritising “systemic safety failures” over individual incidents of children accessing sensitive materials.
The commission said it was taking enforcement actions against AI chatbots generating sexually explicit content in addition to monitoring online services like search engines and app stores, and pornography providers were enforcing safe user experiences.
Accordingly, companies found in breach of the online safety codes would face civil penalties of up to $49.5 million.
Under Apple’s new account management requirements, adults over 18 will need to “take certain actions on their account”.
Pornhub has returned to Australia after the roll-out of Apple’s age-verification feature. (Unsplash: Manu Del Moral)
Among the requirements, Apple users will need to confirm their age with a credit card, passport, driver’s licence or government-issued ID.
Apple said it would verify account-holders’ ages via existing card details or other “eligible methods”.
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“Debit cards and gift cards aren’t supported,” Apple’s support page read.
Alex Kekesi, vice-president for brand and community at Aylo, the parent company behind many adult entertainment platforms including Pornhub, welcomed the news.
She said Apple’s verification process had “set a benchmark by enabling child safety features automatically for users who have not verified that they are adults, ultimately, making every phone or tablet kid-safe as a starting point”.
Ms Kekesi said Aylo had advocated for “device-based verification” for years.
She said it was “the most effective and privacy-protecting approach to help prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content online”.
“In our view, Apple’s Australian device-level age-verification update offers one of the strongest and hardest to circumvent protections currently available.
“Moving forward, age-verified iOS users in Australia reaching Pornhub will be served a standard adult user experience.”
She said the technology also avoided users turning to virtual private network apps to circumvent blocks.
VPN usage skyrocketed in the days leading up to Pornhub’s ban in Australia, the Guardian reported at the time.
ABC