TikTok Removed LIVE, Coins or DMs Because of Your Age? How to Appeal

Does this match what you see?

• TikTok says you can no longer go LIVE, buy Coins or send direct messages.
• A notification says TikTok believes you don’t meet the minimum age for a feature.
• The LIVE, Coins or messaging option disappeared after an age check.

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Based on TikTok’s “Minimum age appeals on TikTok” page (supplied by the site owner). Appeal options vary by age and location. Also covers TikTok’s “Underage appeals” page for whole-account bans; see account banned for being underage.

Why this happens: the possible causes

TikTok says it may remove access to certain features, including these, if it believes you don’t meet the minimum age.

• TikTok believes you’re under the feature’s minimum ageCheck this first

  TikTok says it may remove access to LIVE, Coins or DMs if it believes you don’t meet the minimum age requirement. If it made a mistake, you can appeal.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

Which TikTok features have age limits

TikTok says accounts are for people at least 13 (or other ages in its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service), and it may remove access to certain features if it believes you don’t meet the minimum age, including:

• LIVE: 18 and older. See who can go LIVE.
• Buy Coins: 18 and older (19 in South Korea). See TikTok Coins.
• Direct messages: 16 and older. See TikTok messages.

Losing a feature isn’t a ban. TikTok says you can still use your account and, where applicable, download LIVE Replays or direct messages that don’t break its Community Guidelines. If your whole account was banned because TikTok thinks you’re under 13, that’s a separate underage appeal; see below.

How TikTok asks you to confirm your age

TikTok says the options depend on your age and location:

• Selfie with ID (16 or older): a photo of your government-issued ID, plus a selfie holding the same ID and a piece of paper with a unique code TikTok sends you. TikTok says you may cover parts of your ID that you have a legal right or obligation to cover.
• Ask your parent or guardian (16–17): they get an email to confirm your date of birth. TikTok says confirmation only works on mobile (on a computer, scan the QR code or open the link in a mobile browser), they don’t need a TikTok account, and they confirm they’re over 18 with a credit card. A small temporary charge is made and refunded.
• Photo with a parent or guardian (16–17, in some countries): a photo of you with a parent or guardian over 25 or, if they aren’t available, another trusted adult over 25 (such as a grandparent, teacher, aunt or uncle), both faces clearly visible. The adult looks at the camera holding a paper titled “TikTok proof of age” with your date of birth and the unique code TikTok sends you.
• Credit card authorization (18 or older): a small temporary charge to authenticate your card, which TikTok says is refunded.

What happens after you appeal

• Approved: TikTok updates your date of birth on the account. It says it keeps a record of your date of birth, that you appealed, how, and the result for as long as you have the account, but doesn’t keep a copy of your ID.
• Not approved: the feature stays off, and TikTok may update your date of birth based on what you submitted. TikTok says if you’re 13 to 17, it deletes your LIVE Replays 30 days after they were created; if you’re 13 to 15, DM access stays removed but you can still request your messages.
• TikTok says it starts deleting the photos and ID you submitted as soon as the appeal is complete, uses them only to check your age, and never shows them on TikTok. Your date of birth isn’t visible to others.

Save your LIVE Replays and direct messages

If you lose access to an age-restricted feature, TikTok says you can use its Download your data tool to request your data, including LIVE Replays and direct messages, as long as it doesn’t break the Community Guidelines. TikTok’s deadlines:

• LIVE Replays: within 30 days of when each replay was created.
• Direct messages: within 113 days, or 180 days in the European Economic Area, or 23 days in the US.

Account banned because TikTok thinks you’re under 13

TikTok says it may ban an account if it believes the owner is under 13 (or other ages in its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service). You’ll get a push and in-app notification the next time you open TikTok. If you believe it’s a mistake, open the appeal notification, tap Appeal and follow the instructions.

• Deadline to appeal and download your data: 113 days from the ban, 180 days in the EEA, UK or Switzerland, or 23 days in the US.
• If you don’t appeal or it isn’t approved: TikTok says it deletes the account on day 120 (day 187 in the EEA, UK or Switzerland, day 30 in the US) and starts deleting your data. If it’s approved, the account is unbanned and your data isn’t deleted.
• Save your videos: tap Download your data in the ban notification, choose a file format and tap Request data. TikTok says the file can take a few days; when it’s ready, tap the notification > Download data. It’s available for up to 4 days.

Depending on your age and location, TikTok says you confirm your age with one of these:

• ID and selfies: photos of your government-issued ID plus 3 selfies from different angles.
• Selfie with ID (through Incode): your ID, a real-time selfie, and agreeing to Incode’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. TikTok says Incode keeps what you submit (you can ask Incode to delete it), you get 15 minutes to finish (wait 15 minutes to retry if you exit), and at the end you’re asked to share your date of birth with TikTok; if you decline, TikTok can’t confirm your age (you can try again or use another method).
• Credit card authorization (18+): a small temporary charge that’s refunded.
• Facial age estimation (may not be available depending on your age and location): allow camera access, then take a real-time selfie with your face fully in frame and nothing casting shadows on it, such as a hat; glasses are fine. TikTok says the provider (Yoti) estimates your age and checks the image is of a live person, doesn’t use your face to identify you, and sends TikTok only the age estimate; Yoti and TikTok delete the selfie and face information once it’s done. You can’t upload an existing photo. Having trouble, or prefer not to? Use another method, such as ID and selfies (or credit card authorization if you’re 18+).

For ID and selfies, selfie with ID, and credit card authorization, you also give an email address, and TikTok emails you the result; TikTok only lists an email for those three methods. TikTok says it starts deleting your selfies, ID photos and email once the appeal is complete, though where the law requires it, TikTok may keep appeal information.

For parents, guardians and trusted adults

If TikTok removes a feature from your teen’s account, or bans it, your teen may ask you to help with the appeal by confirming their date of birth or appearing in a photo with them. TikTok says:

• It uses the photo only to decide the appeal and never shows it on TikTok. The photo is stored by a third-party service provider, and deletion starts as soon as the appeal is complete.
• In the EEA, UK and Switzerland, you can object to, access, delete or correct that photo through TikTok’s online privacy form, and complain to the Irish Data Protection Commission (EEA) or your local supervisory authority.
• It recommends its Guardian’s Guide to learn about TikTok’s safety tools and to talk with your teen about staying safe.

How to know it worked

• The feature is back after an approved appeal, or you’ve saved your LIVE Replays and messages with Download your data.

Still not working? Your next steps

1. Questions about how TikTok handles your appeal data: TikTok says to use its online privacy form (EEA, UK or Switzerland: its Data Protection Officer form).
2. Banned for another reason: see TikTok account banned.

Frequently asked questions