Yoti Jumps to Second on UK App Store Post Online Safety Act

Published Date : 7/28/2025 

The UK's Yoti digital ID app has seen a significant surge in downloads, jumping to number two on the UK iPhone App Store, following the activation of the Online Safety Act. The app's CEO, Robin Tombs, reports a 25% increase in installs. 

UK age assurance provider Yoti has hit the charts in a big way following the activation of the Online Safety Act. The Yoti digital ID app has surged to number two on the Top 20 UK iPhone App Store Table, jumping ahead of OpenAI’s widely-used large language model, ChatGPT.

Posting on LinkedIn, Yoti CEO Robin Tombs notes a “crazy volume of UK installs yesterday,” and reports “so far volumes 25 percent higher like-for-like today.”

The only app topping Yoti on the table? That would be Proton VPN – one of four virtual private network (VPN) apps in the top ten. VPNs allow users to hide their IP addresses, meaning they can behave as though located outside the UK. Tombs says it’s no surprise seeing the spike in VPN downloads, as users try and work around age verification requirements to access adult content.

According to Mashable, Proton VPN reported a 1,400 percent hourly increase in signups over its baseline on July 25, when the new age verification requirements came into effect.

But, Tombs says, “seeing Yoti at number 2 shows a lot of UK individuals want a private way to digitally prove their age (or ID)” to accommodate the laws.

The GOV.UK One Login app sits at number 10 on the list.

Social media platform Bluesky recently selected software from KWS, a subsidiary of Fortnite developer Epic Games that uses biometrics-based age estimation from Yoti, to ensure compliance with the OSA.

The VPN issue is something of an elephant in the room wherein age assurance is being discussed. A piece in The Verge puts it plainly: “the UK’s new age-gating rules are easy to bypass,” it says in a bold headline. “Most of the age verification requirements for online platforms can be circumvented by a simple VPN.”

It is true that VPNs are a familiar technology well within the grasp of most 14-year-olds. However, as Iain Corby of the Age Verification Provider’s Association is fond of noting in response, laws shouldn’t be discounted simply because they can be broken.

A recent post on AVPA’s LinkedIn page addresses what it calls the “VPN fallacy”:

“Some more sophisticated, usually older, children will make use of a VPN,” it says. “But already, this will be limited to those who are deliberately seeking adult content and are determined to do so – children will no longer stumble across porn nearly as often (36 per cent of 9-19 year-olds have been taken unintentionally to a porn site when looking for something else).”

“More importantly, the adult sites remain 100 percent liable if they allow children to access ‘primary priority content’ – porn, suicide, self-harm, diet – regardless of whether those children use a VPN or not.”

Like physical fences, age gates will keep out some, not all – but they make it less likely that someone will wander into a hole by accident. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the Online Safety Act?

A: The Online Safety Act is a UK law designed to protect children from harmful content online, including adult content, by requiring websites to implement age verification measures.

Q: How has the activation of the Online Safety Act affected Yoti's app?

A: Following the activation of the Online Safety Act, Yoti's digital ID app has surged to number two on the UK iPhone App Store, with a reported 25% increase in installs.

Q: Why are VPNs becoming more popular?

A: VPNs are becoming more popular as users try to bypass age verification requirements to access adult content, especially after the activation of the Online Safety Act.

Q: What is Yoti's role in age verification?

A: Yoti provides a digital ID app that allows users to privately prove their age or identity, helping websites comply with the Online Safety Act's age verification requirements.

Q: How effective are age verification measures in preventing children from accessing harmful content?

A: While age verification measures can be circumvented by sophisticated users using VPNs, they significantly reduce the likelihood of children accidentally stumbling upon harmful content online. 

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