Pornhub is the most-visited pornographic service in the UK, according to Ofcom, the communications regulator, and uses a combination of text messages and emails to verify the age of its visitors, while rivals have adopted facial scanning or credit card checks.

However, UK traffic to the service has fallen 77 per cent since the new rules were introduced in the Online Safety Act, according to Alex Kekesi, head of community and brand at Aylo.

“We were honestly shocked,” Kekesi said in an interview.