Betterment's services are intended for adults and the company states it does not knowingly collect data from children under 13, consistent with federal law.
This analysis describes what Betterment's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes Betterment's compliance framework with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which governs collection of personal information from minors under 13. The clause defines the entity's operational stance on child user eligibility and outlines the information handling protocol upon discovery of non-compliant collection.
This provision means Betterment does not offer services to children under 13 and will delete any such data if discovered, which is required under federal law but provides limited additional protection for minors.
How other platforms handle this
Our services are not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. California residents between 13 and 15 years of age may opt in to the sale or sharing of their personal information, but we will not se...
Information You Provide may include sensitive personal information, as defined under applicable state privacy laws. We process such information in accordance with applicable law, such as to provide the Services and other permitted purposes under state privacy laws, like the California Consumer Priva...
Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These rights may include the right to know what personal information we have collected about you, the right to delete your personal information, the right to correct inaccurate personal information, the rig...
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"Our services are not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information as soon as possible.— Excerpt from Betterment's Betterment Privacy Policy
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision addresses the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits collecting personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. The FTC enforces COPPA. For financial services platforms, the minimum age for account opening is typically higher than 13 due to contract capacity requirements and financial regulatory standards, which may make this provision largely precautionary. 2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Low. The provision is standard COPPA boilerplate. Given that Betterment requires users to be of legal age to enter financial contracts, the practical risk of collecting data from children under 13 is low but the disclosure remains a regulatory requirement. 3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: COPPA applies nationally. California's Age-Appropriate Design Code Act imposes additional requirements for services that are likely to be accessed by minors under 18, which may require assessment depending on Betterment's user base demographics. 4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Betterment should confirm that age verification mechanisms at account registration are sufficient to satisfy COPPA's reasonable measures standard and that any analytics or marketing vendors are not collecting data from underage users. 5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should confirm that account registration flows include effective age gates; establish a process for handling reports of underage user accounts including prompt data deletion; and assess whether California's Age-Appropriate Design Code applies to any Betterment products.
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This provision establishes Betterment's compliance framework with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which governs collection of personal information from minors under 13. The clause defines the entity's operational stance on child user eligibility and outlines the information handling protocol upon discovery of non-compliant collection.
This provision means Betterment does not offer services to children under 13 and will delete any such data if discovered, which is required under federal law but provides limited additional protection for minors.
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