GitHub · GitHub Terms of Service · View original document ↗

Minors and Age Requirements

Medium severity Rare · 1 of 343 platforms
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Recent governance activity GitHub recorded 2 documented changes in the last 30 days.
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Document Record

What it is

GitHub requires users to be at least 13 years old, and users between 13 and the age of majority in their jurisdiction must have parental or guardian consent to use the service.

This analysis describes what GitHub'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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This requirement reflects GitHub's compliance obligation under United States child protection law, specifically the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The provision establishes the operational standard for account eligibility and GitHub's enforcement mechanism for age verification.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium Apr 28, 2026

GitHub's updated Terms of Service now include an explicit section governing AI features, including Copilot. The new section establishes specific contractual terms for how user data may be collected, used, and retained for developing and improving AI and machine learning models, and identifies what controls are available to users. The practical effect is that AI-related data practices are now consolidated under dedicated contractual language rather than dispersed across general service terms.

View change record →
Medium Apr 19, 2026

GitHub's Terms of Service update on April 19, 2026 involved substantial revisions across 54 sentences, with 40 sentences removed and 4 added. The extent of change suggests modifications to core service provisions; however, without access to the specific language that was modified, removed, or added, the precise operational implications for users cannot be determined. Users should review the updated Terms directly to understand how the changes affect their usage rights, account obligations, or dispute resolution procedures.

View change record →

Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
3
Months Monitored
Apr 3, 2026
First Seen
Apr 17, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 967 other provisions on other platforms.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Minor users between 13 and 18 may be exposed to user-generated content across public repositories, and their account data is collected under the same privacy terms as adult users, raising child data privacy considerations.

How other platforms handle this

Target Medium

Target reserves the right to change these Terms at any time. We will post notification of changes to these Terms on this page. Your continued use of the Target Services after any changes to these Terms constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

Yelp Medium

We may modify the Terms from time to time. The most current version of the Terms will be located here. You understand and agree that your access to or use of the Service is governed by the Terms effective at the time of your access to or use of the Service. If we make material changes to these Terms...

Redfin Medium

If you consent to receive calls and SMS text messages from Redfin, that consent is exclusive to Redfin and its partners and affiliates, and is collected solely for the purpose of obtaining your permission to call or text you as part of providing you with the Services or to send you marketing message...

See all platforms with this clause type →

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
You must be age 13 or older. While we are thrilled to see brilliant young coders get excited by learning to program, we must comply with United States law. GitHub does not target our Service to children under 13, and we do not permit any Users under 13 on our Service. If we learn of any User under the age of 13, we will terminate that User's Account immediately.

— Excerpt from GitHub's GitHub Terms of Service

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

The age restriction provision engages COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) compliance obligations for users under 13, and the parental consent requirement for minors may also implicate state-level children's privacy laws; educational institutions deploying GitHub for minors should conduct FERPA and COPPA due diligence.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC enforces COPPA, which regulates the collection of personal data from children under 13, directly applicable to GitHub's age restriction and data collection practices.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

EU AI Act
European Union
CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
UK GDPR
United Kingdom
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
GitHub Terms of Service
Entity
GitHub
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 20, 2026
Last verified
March 20, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-001342
Document ID
CA-D-00253
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
500196e2878ffe21d8f1488931682264d47bf9c90fd7286a42607def0942608c
Analysis generated
March 20, 2026 10:21 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: GitHub
Document: GitHub Terms of Service
Record ID: CA-P-001342
Captured: 2026-03-20 10:21:45 UTC
SHA-256: 500196e2878ffe21…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/github/github-terms-of-service/minors-and-age-requirements/
Accessed: July 4, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does GitHub's Minors and Age Requirements clause do?

This requirement reflects GitHub's compliance obligation under United States child protection law, specifically the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The provision establishes the operational standard for account eligibility and GitHub's enforcement mechanism for age verification.

How does this clause affect you?

Minor users between 13 and 18 may be exposed to user-generated content across public repositories, and their account data is collected under the same privacy terms as adult users, raising child data privacy considerations.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 1 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with GitHub?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by GitHub.