Claude under-18 suspensions: a guide for wrongly flagged adults and parents
Short answer: Claude is only for people 18 and over. If Anthropic's systems suspect you may be under 18, your account is disabled and the notification email links to an age check with Yoti, a third-party platform; adults who pass are reinstated. If the Claude app says you're under 18, that usually comes from your app store's age information, which only Apple or Google can change. Parents who find a child using Claude can contact [email protected].
This guide is for adults who were wrongly flagged and for parents. It only summarises Anthropic's official pages (checked on 2026-10-25) and says so where they are silent. If you are under 18: Claude's consumer product isn't available to you, and we don't publish any way around age checks.
The official age rule
- Consumer Terms: you must be at least 18 years old or the minimum age required to consent to use the Services in your location, whichever is higher.
- Age assurance on Claude: Claude, the consumer product, is only available to people over 18, and you confirm you're 18 or over when setting up an account.
- Privacy Policy, section 7: the Services are not directed towards children under 18, and Anthropic has measures to detect and remove children from the Services.
Why an account gets disabled
The official pages describe two situations:
| Situation | What Anthropic says | Who to contact |
|---|---|---|
| Account disabled | Safety systems detect if people under 18 may be using Claude and disable accounts based on indicators of minor activity, or ask you to verify your age before you continue | Verify with Yoti via the link in the notification email |
| Can't sign up or sign in on the Claude app | The App Store or Google Play identified you as under 18 from your account information; new laws in certain US states require app stores to verify ages and share them with developers, rolled out in stages | Apple Support or Google Play Support |
The official pages don't say which indicators are used.
Adults flagged by mistake: the official route back
- Open the notification email from Claude; it contains the Yoti verification link.
- Choose one Yoti method to confirm you're 18 or over:
- Facial age estimation: a selfie, no ID document needed.
- ID verification: upload a photo of your ID such as a passport, driving license or national ID card (country options in Yoti's supported documents).
- Yoti Digital ID app: share a verified "over 18" attribute.
- If you pass, your account is reinstated.
The official pages don't say how long the check takes, whether you can retry after failing, or what to do if the email never arrived. In those cases, log in at claude.ai to see the official appeal options, and see our appeal guide.
Your data: Yoti is independently audited for SOC 2 compliance and deletes your selfie, document images and personal data as soon as your age is checked. Anthropic never sees your ID or image; it receives only a pass/fail result.
The Claude app says you're under 18
From Minimum age requirement access restriction:
- Anthropic does not have access to your app store account information and cannot change it.
- If your age is wrong, contact Apple Support (iOS) or Google Play Support (Android).
- Your age is managed through your Apple Account or Google account. If the account is part of a family group (Apple Family Sharing or Google Family Link), a parent or guardian may have set the age when the account was created, and you may need to work with them to review or update it.
For parents
- Claude's consumer product is not for anyone under 18.
- If you become aware that a child under 18 has provided personal data to Anthropic, the Privacy Policy says to email [email protected]; Anthropic will investigate and, if appropriate, delete it.
- The official appeals page says all banned users can delete their own account (it doesn't specifically mention accounts disabled over age).
- Per Anthropic, the Claude app uses age information from the app store to enforce its minimum age; for accounts in a family group (Apple Family Sharing, Google Family Link) the age may have been set by a parent or guardian when the account was created.
Subscriptions and refunds after an age suspension
The official pages don't specifically address refunds for accounts disabled over age. For the general rules (no refund after termination for a violation, and who to ask for each payment channel) see our refund policy guide.
Related cases from X
Our case library currently has no X posts about age checks or under-18 suspensions, so this page shows no cases.
FAQ
What is Claude's minimum age?
The Consumer Terms say you must be at least 18 years old or the minimum age required to consent to use the Services in your location, whichever is higher. The help center says Claude, the consumer product, is only available to people over 18. Sources: Consumer Terms, Age assurance on Claude.
Why was my account disabled as under 18?
Anthropic says it has safety systems to detect if people under 18 may be using Claude and disables accounts based on indicators of minor activity. The official pages don't say which indicators.
I'm an adult and was flagged by mistake. How do I get back in?
Verify your age with Yoti, a third-party age verification platform, using the link in the notification email. If you pass, your account is reinstated.
Which Yoti methods can I use?
Three, per the help center: facial age estimation (a selfie, no ID needed); a photo of your ID such as a passport, driving license or national ID card (see Yoti's supported documents); or sharing a verified "over 18" attribute from the Yoti Digital ID app.
Does Anthropic see my ID or selfie?
No. Anthropic says it never sees your ID or image and receives only a pass/fail result; Yoti deletes your selfie, document images and personal data as soon as your age is checked.
The Claude app says I'm under 18, but I'm not.
The App Store or Google Play has identified you as under 18 from your account information (new laws in certain US states require app stores to verify ages and share them with developers). Anthropic can't see or change app store accounts, so contact Apple Support or Google Play Support.
What if I fail the age check or never got the email?
The age assurance page doesn't cover this. You can log in at claude.ai to see the appeal options described in Safeguards warnings and appeals, and read our appeal guide.
Can I get a refund if my account was disabled for age?
The official pages don't specifically address refunds for accounts disabled over age. For the general rules see our refund guide.
I'm a parent and my child is using Claude. What can I do?
Claude isn't for under-18s. The Privacy Policy says that if you become aware a child under 18 has provided personal data, you can email [email protected] and Anthropic will investigate and, if appropriate, delete it. Source: Privacy Policy.
Can someone else help an under-18 pass the check?
No. The Consumer Terms require users to be 18 or over and to give correct, current and complete account information; verifying with someone else's ID or face breaks the terms. We don't publish any way around age checks.