Perplexity's service is not permitted for children under 13, and the company states it will delete personal data if it discovers a child under 13 has used the service.
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 prohibition on under-13 use and the stated data deletion commitment engage COPPA compliance obligations, but the terms rely primarily on users self-certifying their age rather than implementing active age verification, which is an area of increasing regulatory scrutiny.
Interpretive note: The operational adequacy of Perplexity's age verification mechanism cannot be determined from the terms text alone; the terms state the restriction but do not describe the technical enforcement mechanism.
The agreement prohibits users under 13 from accessing the service and commits to deleting personal information collected from under-13 users if discovered. Parents and guardians should be aware that no active age verification mechanism is described in the terms, meaning the restriction relies on user self-reporting.
How other platforms handle this
To access and use the Services, you must be at least the age of majority in the state, province, or territory where you live or at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 13, you may not use the Services and you should not be visiting the Sites or using the Services.
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.
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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"The Services are not directed to children under the age of 13. If you are under 13, you may not use or access the Services at any time or in any manner. If Perplexity learns that personal information has been collected through the Services from a person under the age of 13, Perplexity will take appropriate steps to delete such information.— Excerpt from Perplexity AI's Perplexity Terms of Service
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: COPPA, enforced by the FTC, requires operators of online services directed to children under 13 to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information. While Perplexity states its service is not directed to children, AI search platforms may be accessed by minors and the adequacy of self-certification as an age verification mechanism is subject to ongoing FTC scrutiny and state-level children's online safety legislation, including the California Age-Appropriate Design Code. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The absence of a described technical age verification mechanism means that reliance on the terms-based prohibition alone may not satisfy COPPA or emerging state-level children's privacy requirements. If it can be demonstrated that minors under 13 access the service at scale, FTC enforcement exposure increases. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: California's Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC), if in effect, imposes design and data minimization requirements for services likely to be accessed by minors under 18, not just under 13. UK Children's Code (GDPR-based) imposes similar requirements for services likely to be accessed by children. These frameworks go beyond COPPA's under-13 threshold. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations deploying Perplexity in educational settings or environments accessible to minors should assess whether the service's COPPA compliance posture and the absence of described technical age verification is consistent with their own FERPA, COPPA, and state education privacy obligations. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should assess whether Perplexity's age restriction approach is consistent with COPPA obligations and applicable state children's privacy laws. For any deployment accessible to minors or in educational contexts, additional due diligence on Perplexity's actual data collection and age verification practices is warranted, as the terms alone do not describe the operational mechanisms used.
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The prohibition on under-13 use and the stated data deletion commitment engage COPPA compliance obligations, but the terms rely primarily on users self-certifying their age rather than implementing active age verification, which is an area of increasing regulatory scrutiny.
The agreement prohibits users under 13 from accessing the service and commits to deleting personal information collected from under-13 users if discovered. Parents and guardians should be aware that no active age verification mechanism is described in the terms, meaning the restriction relies on user self-reporting.
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