Claude unavailable for minors
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Anthropic says its consumer Claude product is only available to people over 18.
The policy affects younger users, who must pass third-party age checks to keep access.
Background
Anthropic's help center states that Claude, its consumer product, is only available to people over 18, and that users must confirm they are 18 or over while setting up an account. The company says it runs safety systems to detect possible under-18 use and will disable accounts based on indicators of minor activity. Users flagged this way can verify their age through Yoti, a third-party age verification platform, and have their account reinstated if they pass.
How it unfolded
- recentlyAnthropic's help center documents that Claude is only available to people over 18 and that age must be confirmed during account setup.
- recentlyThe company says accounts showing indicators of minor activity are disabled, with a Yoti age-verification link sent by email.
- Sep 11, 2026A Hacker News submission titled "Claude is no longer available for minors" links to the claude.com policy page.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Anthropic states Claude is for over-18 users only, that it disables accounts based on indicators of minor activity, and that Yoti verification can reinstate an account.
- Official
- Anthropic says Yoti is independently audited for SOC2 compliance, deletes selfies and document images after the check, and that Anthropic receives only a pass/fail result and never sees the ID or image.
Still unverified
The exact date the policy took effect is not given in the material; the Hacker News post is dated Sep 11, 2026, but the help-center article carries no date.