What age for TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp? UK rules

What the under-16 ban will do

The government announced it on 15 June 2026, after a national consultation with more than 116,000 responses. It says 9 in 10 parents backed a ban. The plan, from its September 2026 fact sheet:

• Under-16s can't have accounts on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook or X.
• Not included: messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal. Narrow exemptions are planned for education, online shopping and music streaming.
• Gaming: under-16s can still play multiplayer games, but services must stop strangers contacting them.
• Livestreaming: under-16s won't be able to livestream themselves on any platform.
• 16 and 17-year-olds: an overnight curfew from midnight to 6am with notifications off, and autoplay and personalised feeds switched off by default (they can turn them back on).
• AI chatbots: the government plans regular breaks for under-18s and says it will consider banning chatbots that give dangerous mental health advice.

When: regulations go to Parliament before the end of 2026, with the rules in force in spring 2027. Who checks ages: Ofcom, which is studying which age checks work. The government's example is facial age estimation for over-18s.

What's already changed

Since 25 July 2025, under the Online Safety Act, sites and apps that allow harmful content have had to use age checks to stop children seeing pornography and content about self-harm, suicide and eating disorders. Platforms also have to keep the most harmful material out of children's feeds, including dangerous stunts and challenges, misogynistic and violent content, and bullying.

What to do now

• Ages are easy to fake. A child who types a false birthday gets treated as older, and can miss settings meant for their real age. If your child has an account, check the birthday on it.
• Set up the device first. Approving app downloads stops a surprise TikTok. See our iPad and iPhone and Android guides.
• YouTube has a proper option for younger children today: YouTube Kids or a supervised account.
• Games have chat too. Lock down Roblox and Fortnite chat now, before the 2027 rules arrive.

Is social media banned for under-16s in the UK?

Not yet. The government announced the ban on 15 June 2026. It plans to lay the regulations before Parliament by the end of 2026, with the rules in force in spring 2027. Until then, each app's own minimum age applies, which is 13 for most of them.

Which apps will the under-16 ban cover?

The government names Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X. Messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal are not included, and it plans narrow exemptions for education, online shopping and music streaming.

What age do you have to be to use WhatsApp in the UK?

13. WhatsApp lowered its minimum age in the UK and EU from 16 to 13 in April 2024. WhatsApp is not part of the planned under-16 social media ban.

Does the ban cover Roblox and Fortnite?

Not as a ban. Under-16s will still be able to play multiplayer games, but gaming services will have to stop strangers contacting under-16s, and under-16s won't be allowed to livestream themselves on any platform.

Is it illegal for my 11-year-old to have TikTok now?

No. The age of 13 is in the apps' own terms, not the law, so breaking it isn't a crime. But if they signed up with a false birthday, the app treats them as older than they are.