How Do You Change Your Age on TikTok?

In 2021, TikTok tightened its privacy setting and disabled the option to change your birthdate within the app to protect younger audiences. 

But, it did leave some breathing room for accidental taps.

In this article, we’ll explain how to change your age on TikTok and what you can do if TikTok deletes your account due to its age restrictions.

Let’s dive in.

How To Change Your Age on TikTok

Since the company does not allow users to change their birthday on TikTok manually, anyone that wants to alter their TikTok date of birth will need to contact TikTok’s customer support. 

To do that:

1. Log into the app on your phone.
2. Tap on ‘Profile’  in the bottom right corner of the app’s home page.
3. Tap the 3-line icon in the top right corner of the screen.
4. Select ‘Settings and Privacy’.
5. Tap on ‘Report a Problem’ in the ‘Support’ section.
6. Select ‘Account and profile’ in the ‘Topics’ section.
7. Tap ‘Editing profile’ and choose ‘Other’ at the bottom of the dropdown menu.
8. Tap ‘Need more help?’. This will open a dialogue box.
9. Explain your issue and tap the ‘Report’ button.

TikTok’s customer support should respond to your message, via email, in a few days. 

You’ll be asked to provide proof of date of birth. You can send a government ID or passport to verify your claim. TikTok’s customer support team will then review your document and update the birthdate in your account.

Worth noting: It’s important to double-check the email you receive to make sure it is a legit TikTok customer support representative and not a phishing email.

Why Does TikTok Not Let You Update Your Birthdate?

The main reason why one of the most popular sites and apps among Gen Z-ers is to protect minors on the platform.

That’s why TikTok has:

• A minimum age requirement: The first reason why you can’t change your age on TikTok is because the app does not allow people under the age of 13 to create accounts (except in the US).

• Private accounts: In 2021, TikTok made all accounts under the age of 16 private. Allowing users to change their birthdate would mean that minors can bypass the age restriction by manually updating their birthdate on their own, which would expose them to content that is inappropriate for their age.

• A verification process: By asking users to contact customer support and send documents, TikTok can verify the user’s age more accurately and keep the number of minors on the platform to a minimum.

TikTok also has a different algorithm for minors, known as TikTok for Younger Users, that features additional safety and privacy protections designed for audiences under the age of 13, but it only applies to users in the US. 

The platform introduced these changes following an FTC settlement agreement that required the app to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which dictates that apps and websites get parental approval for users younger than 13.

Aside from filtered content, minors (regardless of where they’re from) also cannot:

• Share personal information.
• Host a Livestream.
• Comment on videos.
• Send personal messages.
• Gain followers.
• Send or receive gifts via the virtual gifting feature.

What Happens If TikTok Deletes Your Account Due to Age?

If you mistakenly entered the wrong birthdate and TikTok suspends your account, you can submit an appeal within 113 days (or 23 days if you’re in the US).

TikTok will ask you to upload any form of identification that has your birthdate on it.

If you’re 13 or younger, you can use the Download your data tool in the TikTok app to request your data, including your videos.

What Might Cause a False TikTok Age Restriction Action?

Since the company made the change to the age restrictions on TikTok, there are two ways your account can end up getting moved to the Younger User version of the platform:

• Accidentally entering the wrong date of birth: If you input the wrong birthdate, TikTok will automatically apply all of its safety features and restrictions to your account, and you won’t be able to access any content or perks available to 18+ users on the platform.

• Registering with an email that has an incorrect birthdate: When creating an account through an email, TikTok looks at the personal information (name, gender, and date of birth) from the email and assigns it to your new profile. If you have incorrect birthday information on your email, TikTok will automatically place you in the Younger Users version of the app.

Worth noting: TikTok says that it uses in-app reports, keywords, and other information to detect underage accounts. If there’s enough information to confirm that an account is being used by a person younger than 13, that account is suspended.

Bottom Line

If you’re wondering how to change your age on TikTok, the only way to do that is by contacting the app’s customer support team. You will need to provide proof of age (via an ID or a driver’s license), and they will update your birthdate on the account once they verify the document.