Visits to porn sites down 50%...

[midspunter]

...according to the FT this morning, as a result of age verification. Would it be sensible to assume Adultwork traffic is down by even more, given the relatively greater danger of being outed as an AW user compared to Pornhub?

Women on SAAFE are complaining that calls from AW are down noticeably already, especially from older regulars, and that they are getting more calls from younger men who are more tech savvy.

Could change the whole landscape of punting.

[SonofAJohn]

That's good news
People should stop watching porn completely.
It is extremely bad to consume pornography.

[Maak]

People cant be bothered going through the bullshit to get access.

Hopefully less punters means WGs improve their services

[midspunter]

People cant be bothered going through the bullshit to get access.

Hopefully less punters means WGs improve their services

Looking at SAAFE, it seems like many don't know what to do because there are no major advertising sites that don't require age verification. At least some full-timers were saying their current level of business isn't viable. Seems more likely that there will just be fewer escorts.

[ProjectFun]

I read on one of the big porn sites that they were predicting that views on their site and other big porn sites would be massively down and could lead to them going out of business.
It also must be affecting those who create content for the porn sites.

[RandomGuy99]

I read on one of the big porn sites that they were predicting that views on their site and other big porn sites would be massively down and could lead to them going out of business.
It also must be affecting those who create content for the porn sites.

I think it's a "period of adjustment". The UK can't make up 50% of all adult site traffic. People will move to VPNs and it will settle.

[DastardlyDick]

Hopefully less punters means WGs improve their services

It could also have the reverse effect - if their per hour rate is based on seeing X number of punters per day, then they'll have to start rushing them through, or skipping cleaning between punters which can't be good for either party.
I wonder if this is an intended side effect of this legislation - Labour has made no secret of it's antipathy towards paid for sex for a long time now - if this Law persuades SPs to give up, they've achieved, or partially achieved, their goal.

[advent2016]

Race to the bottom ?

I think this is a blip, and it will sort itself out and this time next year it won't be a problem, and we'll laugh about it. I use the site P*rn Dude that has links to many other sites and has useful resources about VPN destination and age verification.

[Stevelondon]

I’m not one for watching a lot of porn anyway. I find most stuff positively boring.
So can’t say it’s made much of a difference to me really.

[Chris1990mcr]

Surely any of the smart girls will just advertise on AW and Viva with safe gallery pics clothed / swimwear / bikini etc which means pics are not filtered.

Its a right load of shit and faff though.

[Doc Holliday]

I am sure someone with more tech ability than myself could shed light on this, but is this 50% reduction accurate?

Traffic data will pick up users accessing from a UK IP address and this will undoubtedly have reduced, but given that many UK users will now be using VPNs showing access from another country, does that not make it difficult to arrive at this reduction rate?

In addition currently there is still a significant amount of available porn online which is not behind age restriction so many others may just have switched to that, rather than the 'big boys' Pornhub etc?

Or am I missing something?

[big-al93]

I am sure someone with more tech ability than myself could shed light on this, but is this 50% reduction accurate?

Traffic data will pick up users accessing from a UK IP address and this will undoubtedly have reduced, but given that many UK users will now be using VPNs showing access from another country, does that not make it difficult to arrive at this reduction rate?

In addition currently there is still a significant amount of available porn online which is not behind age restriction so many others may just have switched to that, rather than the 'big boys' Pornhub etc?

Or am I missing something?

No. Nail, head hit   
But why ruin a clickbait headline just because the stats are flawed?

[RandomGuy99]

BBC News - Porn site traffic plummets as UK age verification rules enforced - BBC News
External Link/Members Only

[bhudda]

I am sure someone with more tech ability than myself could shed light on this, but is this 50% reduction accurate?

Traffic data will pick up users accessing from a UK IP address and this will undoubtedly have reduced, but given that many UK users will now be using VPNs showing access from another country, does that not make it difficult to arrive at this reduction rate?

In addition currently there is still a significant amount of available porn online which is not behind age restriction so many others may just have switched to that, rather than the 'big boys' Pornhub etc?

Or am I missing something?

exactly this - would be interesting to know if visits to porn sites from countries that appear not to be the UK have increased by a similar amount

[sparkus]

I notice VS has responded to what I assume is a sudden drop off in trade with a disclaimer at the top saying you can still call them even if they're blurred out!

Also, WGs have responded by making the first gallery pic very vanilla and likely not to be blurred out.  We'll see more Brazilians in robes and PJ shorts from now on!

[Mstar86]

I was with an SP last week that says although she’s quieter, she likes the privacy and has kept her main pic blurred.

She’s not full time & has regulars but was an interesting take. I do wonder if she’ll just do a few more days / hours to make up for loss or will eventually change her pic? 

[sparkus]

I was with an SP last week that says although she’s quieter, she likes the privacy and has kept her main pic blurred.

She’s not full time & has regulars but was an interesting take. I do wonder if she’ll just do a few more days / hours to make up for loss or will eventually change her pic? 

Yeah, there's different economics at play across the 4,000+ WGs on VS in London.  A suburban brothel reliant on high footfall to cover costs would be feeling any drop off, though in many cases regular punters just rock up anyway without seeing the latest b&s ad.  The WGs in hotel rooms also need a minimum number of clients to cover the basics too.

[JontyR]

I wonder whether paid subscriptions have actually gone up.

[DastardlyDick]

I wonder what percentage of that 50% is down to people using VPNs to access porn? 

[RandomGuy99]

I wonder what percentage of that 50% is down to people using VPNs to access porn? 

You can use free tools like External Link/Members Only to see stats on a website 's traffic and where the traffic is coming from.

[Doormatt]

I wonder what percentage of that 50% is down to people using VPNs to access porn? 

My thoughts exactly. Lies,damn lies and statistics.

[Landscape]

I wonder what percentage of that 50% is down to people using VPNs to access porn? 

Yep, that's what actually is happening. The numbers aren't going down, they're just becoming obscured due to the rise in VPN usage and that part is being ignored by the press for the sake of a clickbait headline.

[advent2016]

A few SPs who use WA will provide photos on there or links to other photo sharing sites and the risk of malware

[RogerBoner]

Race to the bottom ?

I think this is a blip, and it will sort itself out and this time next year it won't be a problem, and we'll laugh about it. I use the site P*rn Dude that has links to many other sites and has useful resources about VPN destination and age verification.

Heads up about Porn Dude website. It links you to plenty of decent/indecent  sites without the need for age verification.