How old should you be to have a Facebook account?

As written in their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, users of Facebook should be at least 13 years old. However, many children under this age still register (either with or without parental consent) and use the site regularly. This subject is open to debate by many people and children, however it really comes down to the views of the child's parents.


According to the Facebook Privacy Policy page:

"No information from children under age 13. If you are under age 13, please do not attempt to register for Facebook or provide any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible."


This is due to the US Federal Trade Commission's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which basically says that any web site operator collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 must have verifiable parental permission. Some web sites, such as Facebook, have chosen to disallow underage children from using their services due to all that is involved in gaining that parental permission plus the fact that their web site is not directed at children under the age of 13.