Turning 13: what changes on each account, and what does not
Thirteen is the birthday parents dread, but on most accounts it moves less control than you think. The exception is YouTube.
On most platforms, a thirteenth birthday does not end parental control. A supervised Google Account stays supervised, and your teen needs your approval to stop supervision until 18. On Apple, a 13–17 year old cannot leave your Family Sharing group while you keep Screen Time on. PlayStation changes nothing at 13. The real cliff is YouTube, where the supervised kid experience ends at 13 and anything that replaces it needs your teen’s agreement.
What changes at 13, platform by platform
The age rules below are the ones each company publishes. Where a company says the age depends on your country, the table says so; 13 is the common case, not a universal one.
| Platform | What happens at 13 | Who can end parental control | When the parent’s hold ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Account (Family Link) | You and your child are both emailed. Supervision settings stay the same unless your child acts on the email. | You, at any time. Your child only with your approval. | 18 |
| Apple Family Sharing | Your child can now leave or be removed from the family group, but only once the organizer turns Screen Time off. | The organizer, by turning Screen Time off. | Varies by region; some require a child to stay in a family group until 18 |
| PlayStation | Nothing. A child account stays a child account. | No one; child members cannot be removed from a family. | When your child becomes eligible to upgrade to an adult account |
| YouTube | The supervised kid experience ends and your child gets YouTube without supervision. | Not applicable: supervision ends on its own. | 13. A supervised teen account is optional and either of you can switch it off. |
| No change at 13. Teen Account protections apply to every teen. | Under 16, loosening a protection needs your permission. | 16, unless you have set up parental supervision |
Google Accounts at 13: supervision stays unless you agree to end it
Google sends an email to the supervising parent and to the child when the child reaches 13, or the applicable age in their country. If your child ignores the email, nothing changes: in Google’s words, “supervision settings remain the same until your child decides to update their account.” The email offers an Update your account option, and supervision stays in place through that too.
The rule that matters is Google’s own sentence: “Children need parent approval to stop supervision until they turn 18.” You, as the parent, can stop supervision at any time after 13. Your teen cannot stop it on their own before 18.
Many parents expect the opposite, and older advice saying a 13-year-old can switch supervision off alone still circulates. Check Google’s current page yourself before a birthday argument, and read the Google Family Link guide for the controls themselves.
What Google’s rule does not do: it keeps the account supervised, not the teen. A second account made without your knowledge is outside Family Link entirely.
Apple Family Sharing at 13: Screen Time is the lock
Apple treats under-13s and 13–17s differently when it comes to leaving the family group.
- Under 13: a child cannot simply be removed. The organizer has to delete the child’s Apple Account and let the deletion take effect, or move the Child Account to another family group.
- 13 to 17: if Screen Time is on for their device, the organizer must turn off Screen Time before the teen can leave or be removed. Keep Screen Time on and the teen stays in your family group.
- Up to 18, depending on where you live: Apple says a child might have to stay connected to a family group until they turn 18 and can confirm they are an adult.
Two protections do not depend on you at all. Apple turns Communication Safety on automatically for anyone under 18, and depending on the laws where you live, Age Range for Apps may be turned on based on age and cannot be turned off. The iPhone and iPad guide covers the Screen Time settings in detail.
What Apple’s rule does not do: Screen Time keeps a teen in the family group, but the settings inside it are only as strict as you leave them. Turning Screen Time off to “give them some freedom” also removes the thing keeping them in the group.
PlayStation at 13: nothing changes
A PlayStation child account does not change at 13. Sony’s family page is blunt: “child members cannot be removed from your family.” Your parental controls and age rating limits carry on exactly as set, and your teen can still ask you for exceptions.
The change comes later. When a child becomes eligible to upgrade to an adult account, a notification appears when they sign in, and they can upgrade or choose Do This Later. Upgrading is not required, and Sony states that “you can’t revert to a child account once upgraded.” Sony’s current family page does not print the eligibility age, so check it for your region. The PlayStation guide has the parental control settings.
YouTube at 13: the supervised kid experience ends
YouTube is the one place where 13 really is a cliff. Google says that once your child turns 13, or the applicable age in your country or region, “they’ll have access to YouTube without supervision.” The content settings you chose for a supervised kid account stop applying.
Your options after 13:
- A supervised teen account. Either of you can start it, but both of you have to agree before it turns on, and either of you can turn it off at any time. You see channel activity — uploads, live streams, comments posted and subscriptions — and can set take-a-break and bedtime reminders and a limit on Shorts scrolling. It is insight, not a content filter.
- Restricted Mode, which Google suggests to help a child avoid most mature content.
Decide which one before the birthday, because a supervised teen account is a conversation, not a setting. The YouTube guide covers both.
Instagram at 13 and 16: the protections stay, the permission changes
Instagram does not treat 13 as a change point, because Teen Account protections apply to every teen automatically: a private account, limits on who can message them, the strictest sensitive-content setting, limited tagging and mentions, a daily time reminder and sleep mode overnight.
The age that matters on Instagram is 16. Meta says “teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of the built-in protections to be less strict.” From 16, a teen can loosen them unless you have set up parental supervision, which puts those changes back behind your approval. The Instagram guide walks through supervision.
What stays on by default, and what you have to keep deliberately
| Control | After 13, by default | What you have to do |
|---|---|---|
| Google supervision | Stays on until 18 unless you end it | Nothing. Tell your teen the email is coming and what it means. |
| Apple Screen Time and family group | Stays, while Screen Time is on | Keep Screen Time on if you want the family group to hold. |
| Apple Communication Safety | On automatically under 18 | Nothing. |
| PlayStation parental controls | Unchanged | Review age ratings as your teen gets older. |
| YouTube supervision | Ends at 13 | Agree a supervised teen account together, or turn on Restricted Mode. |
| Instagram Teen Account protections | On for every teen; parent permission needed to loosen under 16 | Set up parental supervision if you want approval rights after 16. |
The thirteenth-birthday checklist
- A couple of weeks before the birthday, list every account your child uses and which parent manages each one.
- Tell your child that Google will email them at 13, and that supervision stays on unless the two of you agree to end it.
- On Apple, decide whether Screen Time stays on. For a 13 to 17 year old, Screen Time being on is what keeps them in your Family Sharing group.
- On YouTube, decide before the birthday: a supervised teen account you both agree to, Restricted Mode, or neither.
- On Instagram, set up parental supervision now if you want to keep approving setting changes after 16.
- On PlayStation, nothing changes at 13. Review the age rating limits for the games your teen now plays.
- Go through the list with your teen and say which controls stay, which loosen and when. Surprises cause more arguments than rules do.
Recommendations by age
- 13 to 14: keep Google supervision and Apple Screen Time on. Replace YouTube supervision with a supervised teen account if your teen will agree to one, and explain that it shows you channel activity, not everything they watch.
- 15 to 16: start handing over individual settings, one at a time, while supervision is still in place. Decide before 16 whether you want Instagram supervision, because that is when Instagram’s parent permission ends without it.
- 17: plan the last handover. At 18 your approval is no longer needed to end Google supervision, and PlayStation will eventually offer the adult upgrade that cannot be undone. The ages 13–17 quick start covers the conversations.
Honest limits of every rule on this page
- Each rule governs one account. None of them stops a teen from making a second account you do not know about, or using a friend’s device.
- The ages vary by country. Google and Apple both say so, and local rules can change what Instagram and PlayStation do too.
- Keeping supervision on is not the same as knowing what happens. Most of these tools show settings and summaries, not messages.
- These rules change. Every rule here was checked against the vendor pages listed below on 2026-09-29; check them again before you rely on one.
For the device-by-device setup, read the Google Family Link, iPhone and iPad, PlayStation, YouTube and Instagram guides.
When parental controls change
The settings involved here change from year to year. Roughly monthly we send new guides, changes to controls like these, and scams worth knowing about.
Free. No ads, no affiliate links, and we never sell or share your address.
Common questions
Can my child turn off Family Link when they turn 13?
No. Google emails you and your child at 13 (or the applicable age in your country), but supervision stays as it is unless your child acts on the email, and even then Google says children need parent approval to stop supervision until they turn 18. You can stop supervision yourself at any time after 13.
Can my 13-year-old leave our Apple Family Sharing group?
Only if you let them. For a member aged 13 to 17 whose device has Screen Time on, the organizer must turn off Screen Time before they can leave or be removed. Under 13, a child can only come out of the group if the organizer deletes their Apple Account or moves it to another family group. In some regions a child has to stay in a family group until 18.
What happens to YouTube supervision at 13?
The supervised kid experience ends, and Google says your child gets access to YouTube without supervision. You can replace it with a supervised teen account, which you both have to agree to and either of you can switch off, or turn on Restricted Mode. A supervised teen account shows you channel activity such as uploads, comments and subscriptions — it is not a content filter.
Does anything change on PlayStation at 13?
No. A child account stays a child account, and Sony says child members cannot be removed from a family. The change comes later, when your child becomes eligible to upgrade to an adult account — upgrading is optional, and it cannot be reversed.
When do Instagram Teen Account protections stop needing my permission?
At 16. Meta says teens under 16 need a parent’s permission to make any of the built-in protections less strict. From 16 a teen can loosen them unless you have set up parental supervision, which puts those changes back behind your approval.