Despite his attempts to be classified as a messaging appInstead of a social platform, to avoid the upcoming age restrictions on social media in Australia, Snapchat has now accepted that it will have to comply with the new laws, which come into effect on December 10.
And like Metait now informs users under the age of 16 that they will lose access to their profiles from that date.
As explained by Snap:
“From December 10, 2025, all users in Australia under the age of 16 will have their accounts locked. If you are under 16 years old, you cannot maintain or create a Snapchat account. If you have an existing Snapchat account, we recommend that you do so download your data as quickly as possible.”
Snap says users have three years to reactivate their account, and if you turn 16 within that period, you can return to your profile and use the app again. Otherwise your data will be lost.
“We also recommend you cancel any subscriptions Snapchat+ or Memories+.”
In addition, Snapchat is also introducing new age checks for Australian users in-stream, which will include three verification options:
- ConnectID (bank verified) – You can verify your age via a link to your Australian bank account.
- Photo ID – You can scan your government-issued ID and our third-party service provider, childscans and validates your ID and age. The documents you submit will only be used to verify your age. These documents include a passport, driver’s license or other state-issued ID.
- Facial age estimation – You can take a selfie and k-ID estimates an age category.
Snap says it will not receive users’ facial scans, bank account information or other personal information that they provide during the age verification process.
So teens will have a number of options to avoid a ban, and it will be interesting to see how this group of users in particular reacts to the new restrictions, as Snapchat and other social media apps already play a crucial connecting role in their lives.
Truly, the whole world will be watching to see how the introduction of Australia’s stricter age restrictions on social media will actually work, with many other regions considering similar steps to increase the age of social media access.
Currently, all major social media platforms require users to be 14 years old to have an account, but this new law will implement stricter rules, as well as financial penalties, to ensure platforms implement stricter measures to ensure they keep young users out of their apps.
Of course, the effectiveness of such a process is questionable, as most age detection measures can be circumvented through various processes. I live in Australia and have a fifteen-year-old son, and he and his friends have expressed no concerns about their ability to circumvent these measures once they are implemented.
So the reality will come down to how well these enhanced vetting processes keep young teens from being left out and from lying about their age.
Although I maintain that the legal status here is too vague to be truly effective, as Australian law states that social platforms must ‘take reasonable steps’ restrict teens under 16 from accessing their apps. This leaves too much gray area and will likely make it difficult for Australian authorities to prosecute any platform for non-compliance.
But we’ll see what happens as apps warn young users that the restrictions are coming, just in time for the local school holidays.
Snapchat says it’s a mistake and will only push kids to more dangerous parts of the internet.
We’ll know in a few weeks.
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