Social Media Age Bans by Country: 2026 Tracker

The short answer

Quick answer: as of 4 November 2026, Australia is the only country in this tracker with a social media age ban in force. Since 10 December 2025, under-16s there cannot hold accounts on age-restricted platforms. Greece has passed an under-15 ban that starts on 1 January 2027. The UK has announced an under-16 ban due in spring 2027, and Ofcom has published how age checks could work.

Tracker

Tracker:

• Australia — 16 — In force — 10 Dec 2025 — eSafety Commissioner evaluation (Aug 2026) — 4 Nov 2026
• Greece — 15 — Law passed by parliament — 1 Jan 2027 — Greek Ministry of Health · AFP — 4 Nov 2026
• United Kingdom — 16 — Announced; regulations due by end of 2026 — Spring 2027 (planned) — GOV.UK fact sheet · Ofcom · House of Commons Library — 4 Nov 2026

Australia: the first data

Platforms that the eSafety Commissioner treats as age-restricted must take "reasonable steps" to stop under-16s holding accounts. Children and parents face no penalties (Digital Watch). eSafety's first evaluation followed children aged 10 to 15 before the ban and three months after it started (eSafety report):

eSafety describes these results as an early snapshot and says they cannot yet show whether the policy is working.

• the share holding at least one account on an age-restricted platform fell from 52.4% to 42.1%
• overall use of these platforms, including without an account, fell only slightly, from 85.9% to 81.5%
• among children who kept an account, 50.2% said the platform had not yet asked them to confirm their age, and 18.2% said a check had estimated their age wrongly
• use of messaging apps and online games rose, and parents became less aware of what their children used (the share unaware rose from 23.3% to 33.3%)

Greece: under-15 from 2027

Greece's parliament passed a law banning children under 15 from social networks, starting on 1 January 2027 (Ministry of Health). Platforms are responsible for reliable age verification, and fines can reach 6% of global turnover (AFP). A self-declared birth date will not count. The checks must cover existing accounts as well as new sign-ups, and the state's Kids Wallet is offered as one verification option (To Vima). Platforms must present their verification plans by early December 2026.

United Kingdom: under-16 from spring 2027

The UK government says it will ban social media for under-16s using a model like Australia's. That covers platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X, but not messaging apps like WhatsApp (GOV.UK). The government says it will lay regulations by the end of 2026. On 29 October 2026, Ofcom published four methods for how age checks at 16 could work (Ofcom).

Other restrictions (not age bans)

France, October 2026: Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asked France's mobile operators to be ready to temporarily block access to TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and X during protests, POLITICO reported. The block was not triggered (POLITICO). This was a proposed emergency shutdown for public order. It is not a minimum-age law, so it is not in the tracker.

What it means for whoin users

whoin.app is for adults only (18+), so these laws do not change who can use it. They do show a wider shift towards meeting people offline, through clubs, activities and local groups.