how to change your birthday on tiktok

Earlier in January 2021, TikTok changed the privacy rules regarding accounts for those under the age of 16, so if you need to change your age on the app to have a less restricted version of the platform, here's how.

It's very common when signing up to literally any website or application to put your age in wrong. Maybe you accidentally put it a year or two away from your actual date of birth or, in TikTok's case, signups were bugged, preventing users from putting in their actual DOB.

We've seen the impact of this on other platforms — for example, Twitter brand accounts for new startup companies being suspended due to being 'underage'.

So what's the deal with TikTok, and how can you change your age on the app?

tiktok mobile app shopping mall — Unsplash: Oliver Bergeron

TikTok introduced new age restriction for users under 16 at the start of 2021.

New TikTok age restrictions 2021

There are two ways for you to change your age on TikTok, though they haven't made it particularly easy: after all, they don't want users lying about their age, especially if you're below the allowed age of 13.

Read More: How to duet on TikTok

On January 13, 2021, TikTok also strengthened their privacy settings by making every account under the age of 16 private by default, which came just months after the mass ban of multiple underaged accounts.

So, here's what you can do to change your age.

Contact TikTok about age change

We understand that some users may be experiencing app issues. Please go to Profile > Privacy and Settings > "Report a Problem" to tell us what's happening. If you can't access the app, please email [email protected] so our support team can follow up!

— TikTok (@tiktok_us) March 1, 2019

Following the aforementioned mass bans, many users who were actually above the allowed age found themselves banned, too, and TikTok addressed this with advice for users looking to make sure they weren't banned or restricted.

They advised hitting the 'Report a Problem' button in-app or, if you don't have access, emailing [email protected] with proof of age. This has to be a government-certified identification such as a passport, driving licence, birth certificate etc.

Make a new TikTok account

If you have wrongly input your age, you could make a new account

If the above isn't possible, your best bet is to make a new account. To do so, follow these steps to log out of your current one:

Click the 'Me' tab
Tap the 3 dots at the top right
Scroll down and select 'Log Out'
Then you can follow the sign-up instructions to make a new account.

We have to reiterate that we do not advise doing this if you're planning on cheating the system and lying about your age. These privacy settings were put in place for a reason, and even if you do lie about your age this will eventually be found out anyway.

If you have legitimate concerns that your age or date of birth is wrong in the app, and if it is hindering your experience, then these tips will help.