Pornhub has unblocked explicit content for Australian users who have proved they are aged 18 or older using an Apple device.

The world’s most popular pornography site banned access to explicit content in Australia in March, following the introduction of new age verification regulations.

The federal government’s online safety codes require pornography sites and other R18+ services to verify that their users are 18 years or older, or face potential fines of $49.5 million.

After the code came into effect, Pornhub’s parent company Aylo said the new rules would not protect minors and that requiring users to provide their personal information in order to verify their age would lead to significant data privacy risks.

In a statement on Wednesday, Aylo vice-president for brand and community, Alex Kekesi, said that explicit Pornhub content would return for Australian users who have verified their age on an Apple device.

How Apple’s age checks work

Earlier this year Apple started to perform App Store age checks in Australia.

Under the new rules, iPhone, iPad and Mac users are blocked from accessing adult-rated apps unless they confirm their age using “reasonable methods”.

Further updates introduced in September now mean Australians can confirm they are adults by scanning an identity document or using a credit card before they can download an overage app or switch off safety settings.

If a user has an existing Apple account, the company can check a credit card that is on file, or examine how long the individual has held their account for to verify their age.

“As a result, today Aylo welcomes eligible age-confirmed Australian iOS users back to Pornhub,” Kekesi said in a statement.

“With these recent announcements Apple is demonstrating they already have the available technology to verify age and the integrated security to access the device.

“The same is true for shared devices with accounts or profiles.

“This is the best and most appropriate place to integrate controls on age restricted material.”

Apple has ‘set a benchmark’

Kekesi said Apple’s approach has “set a benchmark by enabling child safety features automatically for users who have not verified that they are adults, ultimately making every phone or tablet kid-safe as a starting point”.

“In our view, Apple’s Australian device-level age-verification update offers one of the strongest and hardest to circumvent protections currently available for helping prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate content,” she said.

“We congratulate Apple on their extended age requirements for Apple accounts in Australia.”

Kekesi encouraged Apple to roll out age verification around the world, and pushed Microsoft and Google to follow suit.

“We are determined to be part of this solution and want to collaborate with government, civil society and tech partners to arrive at an effective kid-safe-by-default solution,” she said.

When Pornhub restricted its content earlier this year, it was the 15th most-visited website in Australia.

Soon after this happened, the popularity of VPNs (virtual private networks) spiked in Australia as internet users attempted to access unrestricted content.