On June 30 of this year, residents in South Dakota lost access to the adult site Pornhub. Earlier this year the South Dakota state legislature passed House Bill 1053, an over-18 age-verification law designed to prevent minors from viewing adult content. Unfortunately, it also stands to compromise the privacy of all legal visitors to the site, as well.
The law took effect on July 1, 2025, and Pornhub’s parent company Aylo began restricting access to its adult sites for residents in South Dakota a day earlier in protest. Aylo and other privacy advocates claim that these laws not only violate free speech, but will infringe on personal privacy protections. By forcing individuals to hand over personally identifiable information to third parties, it creates the environment for potential government overreach and data misuse.
This ban is just the latest following a trend that has seen more than 19 states lose access to the incredibly popular NSFW site. Similar bans occurred throughout last year for residents in Texas and Florida, among others. Both Wyoming and Georgia also lost access beginning in July, with North Dakota following shortly thereafter.
For legal-age South Dakotans looking to access the site, this is disruptive to say the least. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: using a VPN. Simply download and install your preferred VPN, connect to a server in a state that isn’t blocked, and enjoy the content.
Below you’ll find my top picks for VPNs to access Pornhub (or other Aylo owned adult content) if you’re in South Dakota where access is blocked. And for even more great options, check out my list of the best VPNs overall.
NordVPN – Best overall
NordVPN is my overall top pick for VPNs. It comes with a ton of great features including wide device support, ad- and tracker-blocking, and plenty of domestic and international servers—with coverage in most U.S. states.
It also boasts the fastest connection speeds, meaning you won’t need to lower your video quality to a resolution that makes it look like the important bits are blurred on purpose. NordVPN has one of the widest platform support networks as well, so you’ll be able to view content no matter the device.
ExpressVPN – Runner-up
ExpressVPN is a close second to NordVPN, only losing out due to the fact that it isn’t quite as fast and comes with a few less extra features. Those are just minor issues, though, and shouldn’t take away from ExpressVPN still being one of the best VPN services on the market.
It also consistently has great speeds, so you can stream in HD to your heart’s content. When you also consider that it works with nearly every device and has an excellent record for user-privacy, you can see why we like ExpressVPN.
Mullvad – Best for privacy
Depending on what you’re looking for from a VPN, Mullvad could actually be your best option. It’s in my top five services for overall speed, but more importantly, it earns top marks for privacy.
Mullvad takes every effort it can to know as little about its users as possible. The service won’t ask for an email address or name and it even accepts payments via mailed cash if you want. Plus, it costs a mere $5 per month regardless of the plan you choose.
Proton VPN – Best free VPN
Free VPNs can carry security and privacy risks, but Proton VPN is one of the exceptions. This service from the well-known Swiss-based Proton brand has to-date a spotless track record for user privacy. It’s also refreshingly free of ads.
Sure, it has limitations, just like any free VPN, but thankfully Proton VPN keeps them relatively manageable. For no cost whatsoever you’ll get a one-device connection limit and access to five servers located in different countries around the world (including the U.S.). It doesn’t impose any speed or data limitations on these free servers either—something that’s unheard of with other free VPNs.
