Medium's services are not intended for users under 13, and Medium states it will delete any personal data it discovers it has collected from a child under that age.
This analysis describes what Medium'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
Parents and guardians should be aware that Medium does not have mechanisms to verify user age at sign-up, which means the platform relies on users to self-report compliance with the age restriction.
The updated policy states that Medium and its vendors may scan, analyze, and review your content, messages, AI interactions, and associated metadata. Data sharing now explicitly includes information you submitted or posted through the service, extending beyond infrastructure support to machine learning model training and improvement. The policy does not indicate an opt-out mechanism or granular user control over this specific use of content.
View change record →Removal of standalone COPPA compliance clause means child privacy protections are now only covered under the general Children's Privacy provision with modified language.
View full change record →Medium does not permit children under 13 to use its services and commits to deleting data collected from such users if discovered, but the policy does not describe any active age verification mechanism at the point of account creation.
How other platforms handle this
If you choose to reveal any personal information about yourself to other users, you do so at your own risk. We strongly encourage you to use caution in disclosing any personal information online.
When you are asked to provide information, you may decline to do so; but if you choose not to provide information that is necessary to provide some of our Services, you may not be able to use those Services.
to object to profiling activities based on our own legitimate interests
"Our services are not directed to children. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will promptly delete that information.Excerpt from Medium's Privacy Policy
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly engages the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits operators of websites and online services from collecting personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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Parents and guardians should be aware that Medium does not have mechanisms to verify user age at sign-up, which means the platform relies on users to self-report compliance with the age restriction.
Medium does not permit children under 13 to use its services and commits to deleting data collected from such users if discovered, but the policy does not describe any active age verification mechanism at the point of account creation.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 289 platforms. See the full comparison.
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