Desperate Texans Search for Pornhub Access Workaround

The Lone Star State is Online, Horny, and Desperately Searching for Smut

When Pornhub banished Texas from its virtual garden of erotic delights in March 2024, the state’s governor and attorney general were delighted. Google searches from IP addresses located within the state indicate that voters and taxpayers were not as happy. With what Statista says is the world’s more popular adult content site no longer accessible to them, the San Antonio Express-News reports that Texans scrambled to find out “how to watch porn in Texas,” locate “Pornhub alternatives,” and both bone up on and download Virtual Private Network Services (VPNs).

Between March 14 and March 22, surfer inquiries about “how to watch porn in Texas” increased by 3,500 percent. An interesting observation is that, upon closer inspection of results, it was revealed that Lubbock, TX, famous for being a “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” was the most curious.

Although the most high-profile state to legislate mandatory age-verification for citizens logging onto adult entertainment websites, Texas is not alone. Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi have all done likewise. In each of those states, Pornhub’s Canadian parent-company Aylo has solved the problem by denying access to its citizens. If the bill that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just signed into law goes into effect, the Sunshine State will likely be next.

Neither side of the age-verification issue claims to want explicit content to feature or be viewed by those unable to legally consent. But Pornhub contends that the requirement violates the First Amendment because it impedes the ability of adults to view protected free speech. Likewise, being able to locate LGBTQ sex-related information and education is expected to suffer. Finally, possible government database info misuse or leaks are a legitimate concern. Nonetheless, federal courts have stood behind the ruling.

Because of this, subscribers and talent in those states seek ways to get back up and stroking. To do that, their IP addresses most be cloaked. According to SlashGear, this realization has seen a dramatic 1,750 percent spike in searches for the term “Texas VPN.”

VPNs are excellent insurance against losing data and being traced by creating a private network that keeps the user’s real IP address secret. This way, scammers and cybercriminals don’t even know those networks exist. When a VPN is in use, connection speed will likely drop a bit, but should not be significant. As Mashable explains, the best VPNs will offer encryption to keep data unreadable and untraceable, as well as make clear what their privacy policy is regarding how they store, maintain, and use the data. The more devices connecting at once, the more VPNs one should employ. Since more choices are better than fewer when trying to find a stable and fast connection, a VPN with thousands of global networks is most desirable.

For those wondering which VPNs are the most popular, Proton VPN is the clear winner, with an increase in searches of 4,750 percent. Other popular, but less searched for, VPNs include Open GX Mobile VPN, VPN Hub, Tunnelbear, NordVPN, and Mullvad VPN.