The new Google terms of service impose a minimum age to be able to create an account. A measure related to GDPR, but that could create problems
Week of news for Google users. Only, in this case, it's not something "tangible", such as new features in Google Maps or some other service in the Big G ecosystem. The Mountain View company, as announced last February 21, has changed the terms of service, thus updating what we could call the "internal rules" of its platform.
Among the various innovations that Google has introduced in the version that will come into force from March 31, 2020, there is one that could cause more than a few headaches. Big G has in fact inserted a section dedicated to the minimum age for opening a Google profile. The age varies from country to country and in Italy the minimum age is 14: below this threshold, you can't open a Google account. And this could be a real problem: the Google account, in fact, is necessary to be able to use an Android smartphone and many parents could find themselves facing a big problem.
Minimum age for Google account: the news
The first section of the new Google terms of service is dedicated to the minimum age to open an account. A measure directly linked to the introduction of the GDPR: article 8 of the European privacy regulation establishes, in fact, that the minimum age to give consent to the processing of data is 16 years old, although member states may independently choose to lower the threshold to 13 years old. And, as already mentioned, the minimum age in Italy is 14.
It must be said, however, that this is not a case limited to Google alone. In the past months, WhatsApp, Instagram and other web platforms have also had to deal with the same regulation, indicating the minimum age for creating a profile.
How to create a Google profile if you're under 14
Big G suggests a method, perfectly legal, to open a Google account that can be used by minors under 14. All you have to do is download the Family Link app on your smartphone and create "child accounts" that can also be used by those who have not yet reached the minimum age set in the new terms of service. Family Link is a parental control app that, in addition to the possibility of creating accounts for under-14s, gives you the ability to control everything your children do and manage "screen time", i.e. the hours that children can spend with their smartphone in their hands.