How to beat the USA porn ban in Virginia, Utah and more

Thanks to recent legislation, Americans living in Virginia, Louisiana, Utah, Texas, and several other states now have to provide a photographic ID before they’re able to access adult content. Understandably, some US citizens are uncomfortable letting the government know which adult content they are watching. Others see it as a huge privacy issue given how frequently adult sites are breached. The good news is that it’s possible to sidestep these measures quickly and easily by using a VPN.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) encrypt your internet traffic, which prevents the government and network administrators from seeing what you get up to. Then, this data is sent through servers in another location, obscuring your real location. In other words, you can simply use a VPN server located outside of your home state to spoof your location and access porn sites securely, safely, and without verifying your identity.

In this article we’ll explain exactly how to use a VPN to bypass the porn ban in the US and we’ll lsit the best VPNs for the job. You can scroll down for a more detailed review of each, but in case you’re in a rush, we’ll start with a quick summary:

1. NordVPN The best VPN for beating the US porn ban. Quick, secure, and known for its ability to unblock just about anything. Includes a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
   TIP In our testing we found that the cheapest NordVPN plan (Standard) works perfectly for Porn.
2. Surfshark: The best budget VPN to securely stream porn in the US. A no-logs provider with strong performance and a fantastic security toolkit. Connect any number of devices.
3. IPVanish: This zero-logs VPN is one of the fastest we’ve tested and doesn’t compromise where security is concerned. As there’s no connection limit, you can secure every device you own simultaneously.
4. ExpressVPN: A well-respected VPN for bypassing the porn ban. With servers in almost 20 US cities, this is a great pick for streaming securely and is an equally good choice for torrenting or gaming.
5. CyberGhost: A user-friendly VPN with simple apps and servers specifically designed for maximum privacy. Has over 1,000 servers in the US and works with most streaming services.
6. PrivateVPN: A newcomer-friendly service that offers steady speeds, strong unblocking ability, and a true commitment to your privacy. Secure up to 10 devices at a time.

How to bypass the porn ban in the USA

A VPN is the easiest and most secure way of accessing adult content in states like Virginia, where it is now restricted. To get started, simply follow the steps below before accessing your chosen adult site.

1. Sign up for a reputable VPN. We recommend NordVPN.
2. Download the VPN app. Our recommendations have at least five simultaneous connections, so they can be installed on any device you use for streaming adult content.
3. Sign in to the VPN app.
4. Select a server in a state where porn is unrestricted. You’ll usually get the best performance from one that’s nearby, but for obvious reasons, you can’t use a server in Louisiana or any other state with restrictions on pornography.
5. Visit your adult site of choice. Because your IP address now points to a different location, the site should not prompt you to verify your age with a government ID (though they may still display an “I am 18” button or similar).

How we find the top VPNs: our criteria

Not every VPN is suitable for getting around online porn restrictions. To complicate things even more, you’ll also need a service that’s fast enough to handle HD video, secure enough to protect your browsing habits from snoopers, and versatile enough to deal with anything you throw at it. Here are a few of the non-negotiable things we looked for when choosing the best VPNs:

• Servers in multiple US and international locations
• Consistently high speeds
• The ability to access popular geo-blocked websites
• Uncrackable encryption and plenty of other security tools
• A no-logging policy
• A generous connection limit
• Apps for all major platforms
• Customer support, ideally available 24/7

This is just an overview of our scientific testing criteria. You can read more about the process and see the results of those tests in our methodology section below. First, let’s take a look at the providers that impressed us.

Best VPNs for Porn: At a glance

We’ve compared the most important features of the top VPNs here. Prefer to read the in-depth reviews? Start with NordVPN – our #1 choice for bypassing the US porn ban.

Best VPN for getting around US porn bans

Let’s jump right in with our in-depth reviews of the best VPNs for beating American porn bans:

1. NordVPN

Apr 2025

NordVPN is our #1 VPN choice for bypassing the US porn ban for a few good reasons. First off, it has almost 2,000 servers in the US, with a total of 7,000 around the world. What’s more, its specialized obfuscated servers can get around even the strictest online censorship – it’s one of the few providers that still works in China, so porn sites and streaming services pose no problems at all. In fact, NordVPN recently added a custom protocol (NordWhisper) designed for situations where the slower obfuscated servers aren’t suitable.

Now, even if your VPN can access adult sites, it doesn’t mean much if your connection is too slow to watch anything. With this in mind, we tested NordVPN’s USA servers at multiple times of day to see how fast and consistent it is. Let’s take a look at the results:

With speeds of over 200 Mbps in all three tests, NordVPN was the fastest provider we tested. There was a sizeable gap between its average speed (209.31 Mbps) and every other VPN in this list, and just 7 Mbps of variance, which is exceptional. Whether you want to stream adult content, torrent, or play games, this VPN is more than up to the task.

There are all kinds of features designed to keep you safe. These include uncrackable encryption, leak protection, automatic tracker blocking, and a kill switch that’ll stop sending data the moment your VPN disconnects. NordVPN follows a no-logging policy, and while it does collect advertising IDs on mobile devices, these can be easily reset to keep yourself as anonymous as possible.

NordVPN has its own iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Linux apps. It can also be manually installed on a wide range of routers.

BEST VPN FOR BEATING PORN BAN:NordVPN is the best option for evading porn bans. It’s fast, easy to use, and capable of accessing a huge range of content. Not only that, this service comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you can try it totally risk-free.

Interested? Find out more in our full NordVPN review.

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2. Surfshark

Surfshark is the best way to beat porn bans on a budget. This service offers access to around 3,200 servers in 100 countries and excels at beating geographic restrictions. In fact, we’ve had no issues accessing notoriously tricky platforms like Disney+, Max, and Peacock with it active. Best of all, Surfshark can secure all of your devices simultaneously.

Surfshark has a reputation for speed, despite its wallet-friendly price point. Our experts ran three tests (in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon) to see how quick and reliable its US servers really are. Take a look at the chart below to see how it held up:

With an average speed of 182.82 Mbps, this service is significantly faster than most others on the market. There was very little difference between its highest and lowest results, meaning you’re all but guaranteed a speedy connection, even at peak times. In our professional opinion, with speeds like these, you shouldn’t experience any issues when streaming, downloading large files, or video calling.

This VPN protects your privacy using high-end encryption, a kill switch, and protection against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks. It’s also capable of stopping ads, malware, and trackers automatically. Surfshark follows a no-logs policy and has had its apps and infrastructure audited to prove this. If you’d like, you can even enable the rotating IP feature to make yourself even harder to track. Customer support is available around the clock over live chat.

Surfshark has apps for Linux, Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. Select routers are supported too, but you’ll have to configure the service manually.

BEST BUDGET VPN:Surfshark is our low-cost pick. It’s affordable but offers a suite of security tools most of its rivals can’t match. Top-tier performance and a true no-logs policy make it ideal for streaming porn anonymously. All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Why not take a look at our complete Surfshark review?

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3. IPVanish

IPVanish has more than 2,400 self-owned servers spread across around 100 locations, around 1000 of which are based across 20+ US cities. It has no issues with platforms like Netflix and Max, which often stump competing providers. Although IPVanish doesn’t work in China or the UAE, it is absolutely capable of beating US porn bans. What’s more, this service is far faster than most, and it’ll secure every device you own simultaneously.

In previous testing, IPVanish has delivered impressive results. That said, it’s important to have up-to-date data since VPNs are constantly upgrading and improving their infrastructure. With that in mind, here’s how well IPVanish’s American servers performed throughout a typical day:

We really appreciated this VPN’s consistency. There was just 7 Mbps of difference between its highest and lowest results. Further, its average speed was 166.23 Mbps, which means it’s one of the quickest providers available right now. In short, IPVanish is suitable for virtually any task, including streaming 4K video.

There’s no need to worry about anyone monitoring your online activities since IPVanish uses uncrackable encryption, DNS leak protection, and a kill switch to ensure all of your data is properly secured. You can also block local traffic, automatically reconnect, or have the app connect whenever you use an unsecured network. This VPN has a true zero-logs policy, which means it can’t reveal details of your activities under any circumstances, and the introduction of the Advanced tier means subscribers now get access to an additional secure browser and a huge 1 TB of cloud storage. Customer support is on-hand day and night to help with any issues you might have,

IPVanish provides apps for iOS, MacOS, Android, and Windows. If you’d like to use it on Linux systems or home routers, you’ll have to configure it manually.

GREAT ALL-ROUNDER:IPVanish isn’t just fast, it’s also secure. These characteristics make it ideal for browsing the web safely, hiding your activities from snoopers, and bypassing privacy-infringing age-verification tools. This VPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Check out our comprehensive IPVanish review.

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4. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN has roughly 3,000 servers in 105 countries, including around 20 locations in the US. This service keeps things simple, minimizing clutter and allowing users to beat digital censorship without the need for any settings changes or manual configuration. Not only does it work in China, it’s particularly adept at beating the VPN-detection systems used by popular streaming services.

ExpressVPN generally has quite high speeds, but we wanted to see how fast it was now that its Lightway protocol has had another update. After all, it was already quite lightweight, and the codebase has been slimmed down even further. Here are its speeds at three times of day using the US servers:

As you can see, this provider never fell below 120 Mbps, ten times what you’d need to stream 4K video without interruption. Its average was slightly higher, at 127.81 Mbps, meaning you should be able to watch at any time of day, even if multiple people are using the internet at the same time.

This provider has all of the tools you’ll need to access adult websites safely. These include 256-bit encryption, protection against DNS and IPv6 leaks, and a kill switch, as well as a custom protocol named Lightway. This is extremely lightweight, meaning it doesn’t drain your battery as quickly, and as a bonus, it’ll even keep your connection secure while switching networks. ExpressVPN doesn’t log any data that could personally identify you. Its split tunneling feature lets certain apps pass through the VPN. Support staff can be reached day or night using the live chat help desk.

ExpressVPN apps are available for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux. This provider also has its own custom firmware that makes it very easy to use on a router.

NO STRESS STREAMING:ExpressVPN is reputable, easy to use, and able to bypass just about any online blocking. Whether you’re looking to stream, torrent, or browse the internet anonymously, it’s a great choice. A 30-day money-back guarantee is included.

We cover this service more fully in our exhaustive ExpressVPN review.

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5. CyberGhost

CyberGhost is famous for having a huge network. There are around 11,000 servers in 100 countries, with almost 1,500 in the US alone. Several of these are optimized for enhanced privacy and secure streaming. You can connect up to seven devices simultaneously, and customer support is available 24/7 via live chat.

From a performance standpoint, CyberGhost has never let us down. While there may be quicker providers on the market, this VPN tends to deliver consistently high speeds that are enough for most tasks. Below, you’ll find the results from our latest testing:

This VPN delivered an average speed of 145.49 Mbps, which places it firmly among the fastest services we’ve tested. Users will be able to stream, torrent, play games, or make video calls without any noticeable performance issues, provided their base connection speed is similar to ours (250 Mbps).

This VPN has a wide range of security tools, including uncrackable encryption, a kill switch, and leak protection, as well as automatic tracker blocking. Although CyberGhost won’t work in China, its random port connection feature might help you bypass less-stringent VPN-blocking tools such as those used by some public networks. This provider doesn’t store any personally-identifiable information, as verified by an independent auditor.

CyberGhost offers apps for Android, Windows, Linux, iOS, and macOS. Users can follow manual setup instructions to get it running on their home routers too.

BLAZING FAST SPEEDS:CyberGhost tops our list of the fastest VPNs and doesn’t disappoint where security is concerned either. Task-specific servers and a no-logs policy make this a fantastic option for beating American porn bans. Comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Still have questions? You’ll find answers in our in-depth CyberGhost review.

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6. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN might only have around 200 servers globally, but don’t let that put you off. This provider owns all of these outright and even acts as its own ISP so that no third parties ever have access to user traffic. On top of all that, PrivateVPN is exceptional at getting around digital censorship – it works against China’s Great Firewall, so Louisiana’s age-verification requirements for adult content don’t stand a chance. Users can connect up to 10 devices at once.

PrivateVPN takes a different approach from most of its competitors in that it doesn’t try to achieve the highest possible speeds. Instead, it focuses on providing a stable, reliable connection that’s quick enough to handle day-to-day browsing. Here’s how well its US servers performed across a day of testing:

There was a small degree of variance across our three tests but generally, PrivateVPN’s speeds remained fairly close together. Its average speed was 56.31 Mbps, significantly faster than what you’ll need to watch 4K video without any noticeable buffering or stuttering.

This VPN prevents DNS and IPv6 leaks, secures your data with 256-bit AES encryption (though this can be reduced for higher speeds), and uses a kill switch to ensure you never browse unprotected. If you’d like, you can let certain apps pass through the VPN unencrypted, for instance, if you want to download an update as quickly as possible. PrivateVPN doesn’t keep any logs and has a stealth mode specially designed to beat online censorship.

PrivateVPN has Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS apps. Linux systems and wireless routers are supported, though you’ll need to follow manual setup instructions to get up and running.

PRIVACY FIRST:PrivateVPN is a novice-friendly VPN with steady speeds, phenomenal unblocking ability, and a real focus on user privacy. In other words, it’s perfect for beating the US porn ban. Not quite sure yet? There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Take a look at our more in-depth PrivateVPN review.

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Methodology: How we found the best VPNs for beating porn bans

You’d be surprised how many VPNs struggle to bypass even simple online restrictions. Of course, unblocking ability is just one aspect of what makes a top-tier service. To ensure we only recommend the very best providers, we used a strict set of criteria to eliminate any less-suitable candidates. Here’s a brief look at some of the most important areas we considered:

Speed

Few things determine the quality of your browsing experience better than your VPN’s speed. Too slow, and you’ll notice videos take forever to load or will only play at very low resolution. The good news is that most major VPNs have invested a ton of time and resources into making sure that they have as small an impact on your connection speeds as possible.

To make sure we get the most accurate speed test results, our team performs three tests per provider, at three times of day (morning, noon, and afternoon). These are run on a 250 Mbps connection since that’s the average US household broadband speed. Next, we average and normalize the results to get a final score out of 10 for each service. Let’s take a look at the standings:

NordVPN had the highest average speed overall and so earned a full 10 points. Surfshark was second, with IPVanish taking third place. As expected, PrivateVPN had the lowest score but still managed to be fast enough to remain competitive.

Functionality

Our next task was to get a feel for each VPN’s level of suitability for the task at hand. This meant examining how many US server locations each had, how many servers it offered access to, and how many devices users could connect simultaneously. These scores were then averaged and put into the chart below so that readers can more easily compare providers against one another:

Surfshark was the top scorer here, earning 8.9 points thanks to its abundance of American locations and lack of a connection limit. NordVPN scored highly too, with its huge server count really helping it along.

Security and privacy

If your VPN can’t keep your browsing habits private, what’s the point in using it? Our team carefully examine each potential recommendation to make sure it offers (at the very least) unbreakable encryption, a kill switch, and DNS and IPv6 leak protection. We also strongly prefer services that follow a no-logs policy (ideally one that’s been independently verified). Here are all the security-related criteria we evaluate:

Once all scores have been assigned, we chart them. This has two main benefits. First, it’s easier to compare providers side by side. Second, even if you don’t fully understand all of the technical info in the table above, you’ll get a decent idea of how secure each VPN is. Let’s take a look:

Ideally, NordVPN would have slightly stronger authentication, and Surfshark would be located outside of a Nine Eyes country, but these are actually fairly minor concerns given how robust the rest of their security offerings are. ExpressVPN did well in this category too, and we really appreciate that it obfuscates data as needed without any input from the user.

Ease of use

Here at Comparitech, we prioritize services that are simple enough for novices to use while being flexible enough to accommodate experienced users. We value VPNs offering 24/7 live chat, clutter-free apps, and strong multi-platform support, but these are just a few of the things we look out for. You’ll find the rest in the table below:

NordVPN took the top spot again here, earning an impressive 9.6 points. We appreciated that this service offered advanced tools, but explained them well enough in-app that they still felt accessible to beginners. Note that the lowest score any of our recommendations got was 8.6. In other words, you can expect a streamlined experience no matter which service you decide to use.

Streaming ability

The goal here is to fool adult sites into thinking you’re somewhere else in the world. Now, adult sites generally have fairly lax geo-location systems. Streaming sites like Max, Prime Video, and Peacock, however, are a different story. To find out which VPNs were the most reliable for this task, we tested each against a gauntlet of tricky-to-access platforms. Here’s everything we considered when assigning scores:

We actually had three providers tie for first place here: NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN. All of these worked with a wide range of platforms, and we very rarely had to try multiple servers before finding one that worked.

This isn’t actually everything we consider when choosing the best VPNs. If you’d like to learn more, we have a post that covers our full VPN testing process.

Bypassing the US porn ban with a free VPN

Free VPNs might seem like a good way to protect your browsing from snoopers, but in practice, they leave a lot to be desired. They often have very low bandwidth limits, which means you’ll usually only be able to use them for a short time each month. Additionally, because there are so many people all trying to access a small number of servers, you’ll almost always notice sluggish speeds. This leads to long buffering times, forced low-resolution video, and often, videos that refuse to play at all – making accessing porn with a free VPN an irritating experience.

There are also security aspects to consider when using free VPNs. While paid VPNs have been extensively tested, there are no such guarantees for free providers. We’ve even seen free services mislead or outright lie about how private they are in a bid to gain users at any cost. While pricing is an important factor when making a decision, it shouldn’t be the only one. We’d recommend choosing based on privacy policy and reputation, instead of using a VPN just because it’s free.

States that have introduced restrictions on adult content

There are now a number of states that consider pornography a “public health issue” and actively impose similar age verification blocks on adult content.

The states that actively block porn through agree verification include:

• Louisiana
• Virginia
• Mississippi
• Utah
• Arkansas
• Montana
• Texas
• North Carolina
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Nebraska
• Indiana
• Alabama
• Oklahoma
• Florida
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Georgia

USA porn ban: Frequently Asked Questions