Skillshare requires users to be at least 18 to create an account. Teenagers who are old enough to consent to online services in their country cannot create their own account but can use the service through a parent or guardian's account.
This analysis describes what Skillshare'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 18-year minimum age requirement, which is higher than the legal consent age for online services in many jurisdictions, affects a significant population of potential learners and creates compliance implications around age verification and parental account use by minors.
Minors between the legal consent age for online services and 18 are permitted to use Skillshare only through a parent or guardian's account, meaning their usage is governed by an adult's account agreement rather than age-appropriate terms, and the platform does not appear to provide dedicated parental consent or child account mechanisms.
How other platforms handle this
Replit is not directed to children under the age of 13. If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to use the Services. If we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a child under age 13, we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible.
You represent that you are (i) at least thirteen (13) years old, (ii) of legal age to form a binding contract, and (iii) not a person barred from using the Services under the laws of the United States, your place of residence or any other applicable jurisdiction. If you are under 18 or not of legal ...
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 that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete such information. In some juris...
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"Students and Teachers must be at least 18 years of age to create an account on Skillshare or any Skillshare owned or operated platforms and to use the Services. If you are younger than 18 but above the required age for consent to use online services where you live (for example, 13 in the U.S. or 16 in Ireland), you may not set up an account, but we encourage you to invite a parent or guardian to open an account and help you watch or participate in classes or other content that is appropriate for you.— Excerpt from Skillshare's Skillshare Terms of Service
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The 18-year age threshold engages COPPA in the US, which applies to online services directed at children under 13. By setting an 18-year minimum, Skillshare positions itself as an adult platform, which provides some COPPA safe harbor. However, the acknowledgment that minors between the legal consent age and 18 may use the service through a parent account raises questions about whether parental consent mechanisms are operationally implemented. In the EU, GDPR Article 8 sets the digital consent age at 16 by default, with member states permitted to lower it to 13; Ireland's 16-year threshold is cited in the document. The UK Children's Code (Age Appropriate Design Code) may also apply if the service is likely to be accessed by minors. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The policy of encouraging minors to use a parent's account rather than prohibiting minor access entirely creates operational and legal exposure if minors routinely access the service through parent accounts without meaningful parental oversight, particularly under the UK Children's Code. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU member states with digital consent ages lower than 18 (such as the UK at 13 and most EU states between 13-16) may find that this policy creates ambiguity about the legal status of minor users who access the platform through parent accounts. The UK Children's Code applies to services likely to be accessed by under-18s and imposes specific design and data protection requirements. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Education sector customers deploying Skillshare for student populations that include minors should assess whether the standard Terms and age restriction policies are compatible with their duty of care and FERPA or analogous obligations. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should assess whether the operational implementation of the 18-year age restriction includes any verification mechanism, and whether the parental account access pathway for minors creates COPPA or UK Children's Code compliance obligations. A review of how user age data is collected and verified at account creation is recommended.
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The 18-year minimum age requirement, which is higher than the legal consent age for online services in many jurisdictions, affects a significant population of potential learners and creates compliance implications around age verification and parental account use by minors.
Minors between the legal consent age for online services and 18 are permitted to use Skillshare only through a parent or guardian's account, meaning their usage is governed by an adult's account agreement rather than age-appropriate terms, and the platform does not appear to provide dedicated parental consent or child account mechanisms.
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