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Usually, no. In Australia, putting a parent’s name on a social-media account does not create a general exemption for a child under 16. Since 10 December 2025, age-restricted platforms must take reasonable steps to stop Australians under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. If the platform is satisfied that the child, rather than the parent or another adult, is using the account, it should remove or deactivate it. The parent is not fined for the child’s access; the legal duty is on the platform.
This answer applies to Australia. Other countries may set different ages or obligations, and every service has its own account terms. Always check the current Australian list from the eSafety Commissioner and the specific platform’s Help or Support pages.
What the parent-account rule actually means
The key question is not whose name appears on the profile. It is who is really using and controlling the account.
eSafety’s parent guidance states: “Age-restricted platforms are required to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from having accounts, so if a platform is satisfied that an account is held by a user under 16, and not their parent or another adult, the account should be removed or deactivated.” You can read that guidance in Social media age restrictions and your family.
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A parent who uses an account personally is in a different situation from a child who posts, messages, livestreams, follows accounts and logs in most of the time. Calling the second arrangement “my parent’s account” does not guarantee that the profile can remain active. eSafety also warns that services have their own rules for account management and user behaviour, so an adult-managed account may still breach a platform’s terms.
The law is a platform obligation. Children and parents are not fined simply because a child accesses a restricted account. The platform must take reasonable steps, which can include age checks, account review, restriction or deactivation.
When the Australian minimum age applies
Start date and jurisdiction
The obligation began on 10 December 2025 under the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024. It covers Australians under 16 who create or keep accounts on services assessed as age-restricted. The rule is sometimes described as a social-media “ban,” “delay,” “age restriction” or “age obligation,” but it is specifically about holding an account on a covered service.
Services currently identified as age-restricted
eSafety’s current list includes Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube. Some services have also notified eSafety that they consider themselves age-restricted, including BlueSky, Match services, Yubo, Wizz, Lemon8 and BigoLive. The regulator says services can be reassessed as their features, audience and purpose evolve, so this is not a permanent safe or prohibited list. Use the current eSafety service information before making a decision.
Services and functions that may be excluded
The legislation does not automatically cover every online service. eSafety identifies categories whose sole or primary purpose is messaging, email, voice or video calling, online gaming, professional networking or development, education, or health support as potentially excluded. Examples eSafety considered not age-restricted as of 10 December 2025 included Discord, Google Classroom, Messenger, Pinterest, Roblox, WhatsApp and YouTube Kids.
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Those examples are time-specific, not a promise that a service will always be excluded. A provider can add social features, change its primary purpose or be reassessed. Check the regulator’s latest classification and the service’s terms rather than relying on an old list.
What under-16s can still do
View public content without logging in
eSafety says under-16s can still see publicly available social-media content that does not require a login. A child may therefore encounter public posts or videos through an open webpage, search result or shared link even when they cannot lawfully hold an account on the service.
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An excluded category is not the same as a universal endorsement. A messaging, gaming, education or health service may have its own minimum age, parental-consent process, safety controls and acceptable-use rules. Review those requirements separately.
Access an adult’s genuine account when the adult is the user
A parent can continue using their own account. The difficult boundary is shared use: if a child is the person routinely operating the profile, the platform may treat it as an under-16 account. Do not assume that a parent’s device, payment card, email address or password changes who the user is.
How platforms check age
Age assurance is the process of estimating or verifying a person’s age or age range. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) says there is no single mandated method. A service may use an in-house system, an external age-assurance provider or more than one method at different points.
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Possible checks
- A selfie or other facial image used to estimate an age range.
- A login to another service that already has age information.
- An image of government identification.
- Signals from account activity or an age-review process.
The exact method depends on the platform. Age assurance is not a product a family can buy to make an under-16 account permissible. A phone, router, parental-control app or verified adult account does not create a legal exception.
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Privacy protections
Age-assurance information is subject to privacy obligations. The OAIC explains that services must handle information collected for age assurance consistently with privacy requirements. Read the platform’s privacy notice before submitting a selfie or identity document, understand what is collected and retained, and use the service’s official support channel for questions. Never send identity documents to an unknown person offering an “age-verified” account.
What happens if a platform identifies a child’s account
Removal or deactivation
If the platform is satisfied that the account is held by a user under 16 who is not the parent or another adult, eSafety says it should remove or deactivate the account. The service should explain what is happening and provide an opportunity to download data. The exact notice, time limit and appeal process come from the platform’s own terms.
Data and account recovery
- Read the platform’s notice and record the deadline for downloading data or appealing.
- Use only the official app or website, not a link sent by an unknown contact.
- Download permitted photos, videos, messages or account information before the deadline.
- Ask the platform what evidence it needs if the account genuinely belongs to an adult.
- Do not submit a child’s information as proof that an adult is the user.
eSafety reported that age-restricted platforms had removed access to 4.7 million under-16 accounts across Australia by mid-December 2025. That is a platform-reported removal figure relayed by the regulator; it does not show that every under-16 user stopped seeing or interacting with social-media content.
Compare the situation before deciding what to do
Families can classify an account using four questions:
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| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who actually uses it? | A parent or other adult using their own profile is different from a child doing the posting, messaging and logging in. |
| Is the service currently age-restricted in Australia? | Covered services must take reasonable steps regarding under-16 accounts; classifications can change. |
| Do the platform’s terms allow adult-managed use? | Each service sets its own account, identity and delegation rules. eSafety advises checking them directly. |
| Does the content require a login? | Public content that does not require an account can still be viewed by under-16s. |
A practical family checklist
1. Check the current classification
Open eSafety’s FAQ and service list. Record the date you checked because classifications and platform features may change.
2. Read the platform’s account terms
Search the service’s Help or Support pages for minimum age, account ownership, guardian-managed accounts, identity checks, appeals and data downloads. Do not rely on a parent’s name alone.
3. Separate genuine adult use from child use
If the parent keeps the account, the parent should be the actual user and decision-maker. Avoid representing a child’s profile as an adult’s profile merely to preserve followers, messages or income.
4. Prepare for a possible deactivation
Save lawful copies of important material, note the account’s recovery email and read the service’s export instructions while access remains available. If a child’s social-media presence generates income, ask the platform how its rules affect the account and records; do not assume the parent-account label protects it.
5. Use eSafety’s family resources
eSafety provides a free family guide, personal action plan and conversation prompts at Social media age restrictions and your family. Work through the plan with the child, including how they will keep in touch with friends, find support and report harmful content without the restricted account.
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Workarounds that create more risk
- Fake identification: Do not alter, borrow or upload someone else’s identity document.
- Bought or “age-verified” accounts: eSafety warns about scams offering fake IDs or access to verified accounts. Such offers can steal money, passwords or identity information.
- Shared passwords: Giving a child the parent’s login does not change the account’s real user and can expose private messages, payment details and recovery controls.
- False location or age information: Misrepresenting identity can breach platform terms and make account recovery harder.
Parental-control software, a different phone, a new email address or a home-network setting can help manage exposure, but none of them determines who uses an account or creates an exception to the minimum-age obligation.
What families and platforms should explain to children
Explain that the rule concerns accounts, not a judgment about the child’s maturity or the value of every online conversation. Discuss which public content remains available, which services the family has checked, and how the child can contact friends through permitted channels. Agree on a plan for reporting abuse, finding health or crisis support and preserving memories if an account is closed.
eSafety’s March 2026 attitudes report is based on qualitative fieldwork with 43 children under 16 and 29 parents or caregivers, 72 participants in total, interviewed from 3 to 26 November 2025. eSafety explicitly says this open-ended work does not produce statistical findings or measure how common any attitude is. It can inform family conversations, but it should not be treated as a survey of all Australian children.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallAnother eSafety finding illustrates why an account’s label may not reveal its real use: in 2025, one in 10 children aged 8 to 12 said a parent or carer did not know about at least one of their social-media accounts. That is a specifically attributed finding, not a current prevalence estimate for every family.
Questions to ask support
If a parent’s genuinely adult account is flagged, contact the platform through its official support route and ask:
- What information led to the age or user assessment?
- What evidence can the adult account holder provide?
- How long will the account remain available for data download?
- What appeal process applies, and when will a decision be made?
- How will submitted age-assurance information be stored and deleted?
Keep copies of support tickets and notices. If the issue concerns privacy handling, the OAIC’s information on the Social Media Minimum Age explains the privacy context for age assurance.
Bottom line for an Australian family
A child cannot generally keep an account on an age-restricted social-media service simply because it is registered in a parent’s name. The decisive facts are the child’s real use, the service’s current Australian classification and the platform’s own account terms. Parents are not fined for access, and children can still view public content that does not require a login, but a platform may remove or deactivate an account it believes is being held by an under-16 user. Check eSafety’s current guidance, preserve data through the platform’s official process and avoid scams or identity workarounds.
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