VPN help centre.
Set up a VPN on your device, understand UK age checks, and find out what happens to streaming, prices and online banking when you travel.
Adult privacy
Can you prove you’re 18 or over on a UK porn site without a passport?
A passport upload is one way to pass an age check. Other options can involve a mobile network, a digital wallet or a selfie. Here’s how to choose between the checks a site actually offers.
What to do if an online age check fails and you’re 18 or over
A blank camera, a rejected age estimate and a website that forgets a successful check need different fixes. Start with the last screen that worked.
Can your Wi-Fi provider see which adult sites you visit?
The broadband bill, the router and the browser each tell a different story. Here’s what can be visible on a UK home connection, including when you use HTTPS or a VPN.
Private browsing on a shared phone, from the first tab to the last
Use Safari Private Browsing or Chrome Incognito for adult browsing on a personal phone, and check the downloads, open tabs and account records that can survive afterwards.
Privacy when viewing adult content
Understand the different records left on a shared device, a home internet connection and the website itself when you view adult content.
Buying a VPN
Device setup
How to set up a VPN on your iPhone
Make your first connection, recognise Apple’s permission prompt and check what happens when your iPhone leaves Wi-Fi.
How to set up a VPN on Android and use always-on protection
Connect a personal Android phone, choose what should happen if the tunnel drops and spot apps that have been left outside it.
How to set up a VPN on Windows 11
Use a provider’s Windows app or connect a profile supplied by work. Find the right sign-in, confirm the route and troubleshoot a connection that stalls.
How to set up a VPN on a Mac
Connect a MacBook or desktop Mac, handle the network-extension prompt and keep access to the local devices you need.
How to check whether your VPN is actually working
Test your IP address, DNS results and reconnection behaviour. Learn which differences matter and which readings can mislead you.
Money & travel
Should you pay in pounds or local currency online?
Use the checkout total, the card exchange rate and your bank’s fee to compare a sterling offer with a local-currency charge before you pay.
Can you use a UK banking app abroad? A travel checklist
Prepare your phone and sign-in method before departure, choose a connection and recover safely if a payment or login is challenged.
Does a VPN stop roaming charges? Using a travel eSIM with a VPN
Choose which SIM pays for data, keep track of your UK number and understand what choosing a VPN country really changes.
Can a VPN make flights and hotels cheaper?
A practical way to compare two travel quotes, including the exchange rate, baggage, cancellation terms and final checkout total.
Streaming abroad
Can you watch your UK Netflix account abroad?
Find the films available on your trip, deal with a Netflix Household message and check why turning on a VPN can make the catalogue smaller.
Watching Amazon Prime Video abroad with a UK account
Work out which Prime titles travel, why an add-on channel may stop streaming and how to prepare episodes for offline viewing before you leave.
Watching Disney+ abroad with a UK subscription
Check which Disney+ titles travel, get past a household prompt on holiday and prepare a tablet for offline viewing on an eligible UK plan.
Can you watch BBC iPlayer abroad? How to take programmes with you
Download BBC programmes in the UK, check their expiry dates and find your offline episodes abroad. Includes help for a location error back at home.
How to find where a film is streaming in the UK
Trace a film from a US recommendation to the right UK edition, compare included streams with rentals and avoid paying for the same title twice.
Watching international TV with a VPN
Why streaming catalogues change when you travel, what a VPN changes and what to check before buying a plan for one programme.