You have to be at least 13 years old to create an account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. That is the minimum age requirement for a Twitter account, and it applies whether you sign up on the web or through the mobile app. Some U.S. states and some countries add their own rules on top of X’s minimum, so 13 is the floor rather than the whole answer.
Why the Minimum Is 13
The number comes from a federal law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA bars commercial websites and online services from collecting personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent.1Federal Trade Commission. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) Rather than build a parental consent system for younger children, X blocks anyone under 13 from signing up at all. Most major social platforms take the same approach for the same reason.
In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation sets a default age of 16 for consenting to data processing by online services, but individual EU member states can lower that to 13.2GDPR Information Portal. Art. 8 GDPR Conditions Applicable to Child’s Consent in Relation to Information Society Services Between COPPA and most GDPR implementations, 13 became the common floor.
What Happens If You’re Under 13
When you sign up, X asks for your birth date. If the date shows you’re under 13, the signup stops. If X later determines that an existing account belongs to someone under 13, the account is locked or permanently deleted, and associated data may be removed to comply with COPPA.1Federal Trade Commission. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) There are no warnings or probation periods once the age violation is confirmed.
This can reach back years. When GDPR took effect in 2018, the platform (then Twitter) suspended accounts where the self-declared birth date at signup showed the user had been under 13, even if that user was well into adulthood by then. People in their twenties lost access to accounts they had used for years.3The Guardian. Twitter Blocking Users Who Were Underage When They Signed Up
How X Checks Your Age
The birth date field at signup is still the primary gate. It is also the easiest to lie on, which is why X layers additional checks on top through what it calls “age assurance.” The system looks first at signals that don’t require any action from you: whether your account was created before 2012 (making you at least 27), whether you’ve already completed identity verification, or whether the account has a verified organization badge.4X. Age Assurance on X
If those signals aren’t enough, X will ask you to verify actively in one of two ways:
- Facial age estimation, where X’s AI analyzes a live selfie to estimate your age.
- Government ID submission, where you upload a photo ID that AI systems use to determine your age.4X. Age Assurance on X
X’s verification partner Persona deletes ID images, selfies, and extracted data after 30 days. The retention window exists so you can appeal a verification result you disagree with.5X Help Center. ID Verification Policy and Privacy Age checks are especially likely to trigger when you try to access sensitive or adult content, and country-specific rules have expanded those checks: UK users have had to verify their age to see sensitive content since mid-2025, and Australia introduced similar requirements later that year.
What a Teen Account Looks Like
Signing up at 13 doesn’t give a teenager the same account an adult gets. X applies several restrictions by default to users aged 13 to 17, meaning a teen would have to actively change them:
- Posts are visible only to approved followers and won’t appear in public search results. New follow requests must be approved or denied individually.6X Corp. Information for Parents and Minor Users
- Direct messages can only come from people the teen already follows.6X Corp. Information for Parents and Minor Users
- Adult media, including pornography, is blocked, and X filters its recommendation algorithm to exclude categories of potentially harmful content from teen feeds.6X Corp. Information for Parents and Minor Users
- Ads flagged as inappropriate for younger audiences are blocked for users under 21. If an account has no birth date on file, X infers age from behavior on the platform.6X Corp. Information for Parents and Minor Users
A determined teenager who lies about their birth date at signup bypasses all of these defaults, which is one reason parental involvement still matters.
Restoring an Account Locked for Underage Signup
If your account was locked because your original signup date showed you were under 13, and you now meet the minimum age, X offers a restoration process. Restoring the account means permanently losing some of the old content.
Permanently removed:
- Posts published before you turned 13
- Likes given before you turned 13
- Direct messages sent and received before you turned 13
- Profile details other than your username and birth date
- Saved Moments, Lists, and collections
Kept intact:
- Your username (handle)
- Your contact information and birth date
- People you follow and your followers7X Help Center. X Account Restoration – X Age Requirements
Restoration takes up to 72 hours once you confirm it, and you’ll be opted out of certain personalization and data-sharing settings you can review afterward. Pay attention to the deadline: once the account becomes eligible for restoration, you have 30 days to start the process. Miss that window and the account is gone for good.7X Help Center. X Account Restoration – X Age Requirements
State and Country Rules That Raise the Bar
X’s 13-and-up rule isn’t the only thing that governs whether a young person can sign up. A growing number of U.S. states have passed laws that go further than COPPA, either banning minors from social media outright or requiring parental consent above age 13. As of late 2025, at least eight states, including Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee, have enacted legislation along those lines, and some of the laws require parental consent for anyone under 18. Several are being challenged in court, so enforcement varies.
Country-level rules matter too. In parts of Europe, the applicable age of consent for data processing is higher than 13, and verification requirements in the UK and Australia mean the signup and access experience differs by location. If you’re a parent, check your state’s rules alongside X’s, because state law can require more than X does on its own.
What Parents Can Do
If you believe your child is under 13 and has an X account, you can report it through X’s underage user reporting form at help.x.com. The platform will investigate and typically lock or delete the account.8X Help Center. Underage User
For parents of teens who meet the minimum age, the practical question is what the default protections actually cover and where the gaps are. Protected posts, restricted DMs, and blocked adult content give a reasonable baseline, but a teen who is logged in can change their birth date or loosen privacy settings. Reviewing those settings together, and talking through why the defaults exist, tends to work better than trying to monitor every post.