How to Unblock and Use 4chan in the UK: Complete Guide

Gizmodo

27-07-2025

Are you struggling to use 4chan in the United Kingdom? Consider yourself lucky! 4chan blocked access to all UK residents on July 25th. The decision was brought due to the Online Safety Act. For those uninformed, this act requires all websites with mature content to verify their visitors' age.
However, this verification is usually realized through:
Such requirements infringe on the user's privacy, which is why they're frowned upon. 4chan seems to agree, and after a tough decision, it decided to block access to all British visitors. But, there's a solution; read on.
Unblocking restricted websites is easily facilitated through a VPN.
We often recommend NordVPN because it's a jack of all trades. Above all, it's inexpensive, compatible with all devices, and secure. It offers servers in over 125 countries, ensuring you can swiftly change your IP.
Unblock 4chan with NordVPN
Speaking of which, that's fundamental for unblocking 4chan in the UK.
You want to replace your UK IP with an IP address abroad. NordVPN lets you connect to a remote server, get its IP address, and overwrite your original UK IP. Now, you'll appear elsewhere online.
Once you go to 4chan, the website should function regularly.
Since the block only affects British visitors, any VPN server will work.
NordVPN is a premium VPN that offers hefty discounts for long-term plans. However, it also has a 30-day money-back guarantee, which allows a full refund within the given period, so you'll lose nothing by testing it.
Yes, 4chan is legal.
If you examine its announcement to block access to UK visitors, you'll notice that it stems from the Online Safety Act. All websites with adult content wanting to remain operable need to implement age verification systems.
4chan is one of the rare examples of non-compliant websites.
So, instead of breaching the Online Safety Act and violating visitors' privacy, it decided to block access. We've seen this scenario with Pornhub in Florida, for example. Instead of verifying age, Pornhub did the same.
This means you can use 4chan in the UK without legal repercussions. 4chan used the 'self-ban' method to restrict access to its site. If the UK government banned it, then it would be illegal.
As you've likely noticed, it's getting increasingly difficult to access adult content in the UK. Unblocking 4chan in the UK is easy, and luckily, the same goes for other websites, applications, and platforms.
Pornhub requires age verification; so does Reddit.
They're different because you can use them IF you comply and verify your age. However, if you use NordVPN or any other VPN, you can bypass age verification and not infringe on your privacy.
The Online Safety Act is here to stay, and we reckon it could only be more stringent. We support its goal of protecting children and minors from obscene content. Simultaneously, this comes at the cost of privacy.
Fortunately, a risk-free VPN like NordVPN helps alleviate the inconvenience. It provides additional security and privacy for adult content consumers, letting them leave no traces of their digital whereabouts.
Try NordVPN risk-free now