Perplexity's service is not intended for children under 13, and the company states it will delete data if it discovers it has been collected from a child under that age.
This analysis describes what Perplexity AI'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
The policy relies on a reactive deletion mechanism rather than an active age verification process, which may leave children's data at risk until discovered, and some jurisdictions set higher age thresholds than 13.
Children under 13 are not supposed to use Perplexity AI, but the policy does not describe an active age verification system, meaning a child could use the service and have their data collected before any corrective action is taken.
How other platforms handle this
Our Services are not directed to children under 13. If you learn that anyone younger than 13 has unlawfully provided us with personal data, please contact us at privacy@medium.com.
Our services are restricted to users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not permit users under the age of 18 on our platform and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you suspect that a user is under the age of 18, please use the reporting mechanism available...
The Service is intended for general audiences and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information without your cons...
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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 such information as soon as possible.— Excerpt from Perplexity AI's Perplexity AI Privacy Policy
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), enforced by the FTC, which prohibits knowing collection of personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. The EU's GDPR sets a default age of 16 for consent to information society services (with member states permitted to lower this to 13), meaning Perplexity's 13-year threshold may not be sufficient for EU compliance across all member states. The UK's Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code) requires age-appropriate design for services likely to be accessed by minors under 18. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The policy's reliance on a reactive deletion approach rather than active age verification may not satisfy COPPA's standard where a platform has actual knowledge of underage users or where the service is reasonably likely to attract minors. AI-powered search services with broad general appeal may face scrutiny on this point. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: US operators must comply with COPPA for users under 13. EU operators face GDPR age-of-consent variation by member state, with some requiring consent at 16. UK operators face the Children's Code for services likely accessed by under-18s. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations deploying Perplexity in educational or family contexts should assess whether the platform's age restrictions and data practices are compatible with FERPA, COPPA, and applicable state student privacy laws. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should evaluate whether Perplexity's current age restriction mechanism meets COPPA standards and whether additional contractual protections are needed for deployments in educational or family-facing contexts.
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The policy relies on a reactive deletion mechanism rather than an active age verification process, which may leave children's data at risk until discovered, and some jurisdictions set higher age thresholds than 13.
Children under 13 are not supposed to use Perplexity AI, but the policy does not describe an active age verification system, meaning a child could use the service and have their data collected before any corrective action is taken.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 6 platforms. See the full comparison.
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