VPN app demand has surged by 1150 percent in Florida. The reason: Pornhub recently pulled out of the state.
A group of analysts has found that "between the clock striking midnight and 4am on January 1, the day of the Pornhub pullout, there was an incredible 1150 percent spike in Floridians wanting to use a VPN to mask their public IP addresses."
The lesson for indie hackers: Let's say you have a VPN app. Changes like these provide an opportunity to push your app at the right moment.
Pornhub's actions weren't out of the blue. So with most major changes, you have time to prepare.
I’m honestly not so sure that, in this market, just building a product is enough anymore (especially for solo founders).
I went through exactly this with VPNs. I’m an expat and just wanted to connect to my home country as if I was still there (e.g. via my parents’ connection). Free VPNs were unreliable, often blocked by websites, and I never really trusted who was on the other end.
So I built what I wanted: tunnelbuddy dot net.
It lets anyone share their internet connection with a friend, peer-to-peer, for free. One end generates a single-use code, the other uses it to connect (no login or signup). That solved my two main problems:
I get a residential IP, like I’m at my friend’s or parents’ place.
I trust the exit node, because I know the person running it.
So: growing market, clear pain, working solution… and yet getting the word out is still brutally hard.
What I’m running into now is distribution, not product. I’m not very active on social media, and when I try to post on Reddit, Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, etc., I often hit friction: low karma, anti-self-promo rules, reputation gates, and so on. It’s ironic that even platforms “for” indie hackers end up reinforcing a chicken-and-egg problem and favoring people who are already established.
The Florida example is a good reminder that timing matters – but I’m increasingly convinced that as indies we need just as much strategy around distribution access as we do around building the product itself.
Curious: has anyone here found ethical, repeatable ways to get early distribution for something like this without already having a big audience?
That's a fascinating case of how external events can drive massive demand for certain products overnight! For indie hackers, this is a great example of spotting trends early and positioning their products accordingly. Whether it's VPNs, alternative content platforms, or privacy-focused tools, staying ahead of regulatory shifts and industry changes can create huge opportunities. Have you considered applying this kind of trend analysis to your own projects?
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The surge in VPN app demand following Pornhub’s pullout from Florida is a great example of how timing can make a huge impact on app usage. Indie hackers should always be on the lookout for shifts in behavior, as these events present opportunities to introduce their products when people need them the most. If you’re a developer or entrepreneur, tools like PoEHub can provide useful insights on how to leverage market trends and capitalize on moments like these. Stay alert and seize those opportunities!