Coursera is not designed for children under 13 and will delete data if it discovers it has collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent.
This analysis describes what Coursera'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 Coursera's operational compliance framework with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar age-based data protection regulations. It defines the company's procedures for identifying and remediating unauthorized collection of personal data from users below the statutory threshold age.
The updated terms now explicitly disclose that Coursera processes communications through voice-enabled features that transcribe audio into text, and clarify that personal data may be shared with third parties including affiliates and business partners. The policy expands descriptions of AI-driven personalization and chatbot applications that use your learning and interaction data. The terms establish that data may be transferred to entities that become Coursera affiliates or subsidiaries during business transitions. You should review the updated guidance that cautions against including unnecessary or sensitive personal data in the platform's free-text and voice-enabled communication features.
View change record →The updated Privacy Notice removes explicit language stating that the policy does not apply to Coursera's Ollie mobile application and no longer directs users to a separate Ollie Privacy Notice for that app. Previously, users of Ollie had clear notice to consult a dedicated privacy policy; that direction is now absent from the main Privacy Notice. The updated notice also narrows the scope of covered entities by removing 'affiliates' from the definition of Coursera, stating the policy now applies to Coursera, Inc., its subsidiaries, and international branches only. Users of the Ollie App should independently verify what privacy terms currently govern that application, as the main Coursera Privacy Notice no longer explicitly addresses Ollie coverage.
View change record →Children under 13 are prohibited from using Coursera, but the policy does not specify age verification mechanisms, and EU users aged 13-15 may require parental consent under GDPR Art. 8 depending on their member state — a gap not clearly addressed.
How other platforms handle this
The services are not directed to children under the age of 13, and Asana does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 16 years of age, you may not use the services without the consent of your parent or legal guardian.
The Service is not directed to children under the age of 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on the Service. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.
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 you are under 13, please do not use our Services or provide any personal information to us.
Monitoring
Coursera has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 25 platforms.
"Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.— Excerpt from Coursera's Coursera Privacy Notice
(1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision directly implicates COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.) enforced by the FTC, which requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal data from children under 13. GDPR Art. 8 sets minimum age at 16 (or lower as set by member states, minimum 13) for information society services — this policy's 13-year threshold may not comply with member states setting a higher age (e.g., Germany at 16, UK at 13 post-Brexit). Enforcement: FTC (COPPA), EU DPAs (GDPR Art. 8), UK ICO. (2)
Full compliance analysis
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Free: track 1 platform + weekly digest. Monitor: 25 platforms + same-day alerts. No credit card required.
Compliance Governance Intelligence
Need to monitor specific governance provisions?
Compliance includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.
Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.
This provision establishes Coursera's operational compliance framework with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar age-based data protection regulations. It defines the company's procedures for identifying and remediating unauthorized collection of personal data from users below the statutory threshold age.
Children under 13 are prohibited from using Coursera, but the policy does not specify age verification mechanisms, and EU users aged 13-15 may require parental consent under GDPR Art. 8 depending on their member state — a gap not clearly addressed.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 6 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Coursera.