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A mother raised the issue after her son received an email from Google
Dan Haygarth Wednesday 14 January 2026 23:31 GMT- Bookmark
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open image in galleryGoogle was criticised for the content of the email (Getty Images)
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Google has been accused of “grooming” teenagers by emailing under-13s and outlining steps to turn off parental controls on their accounts.
A mother accused the tech giant of “asserting authority” over its teenage users by contacting them and outlining the steps they can take to update their account so that they “get access to more Google apps and services” once they turn 13.
Until children are 13, or the applicable age in their home country, their Google accounts must be managed by their parents - what it calls a “supervised account”. This allows parents to block certain content, control their child’s screen time and view their browsing history.
Once 13 - the age at which people in the UK and the USA can consent to their data being processed - the settings become optional and children no longer need to have their accounts managed.
Google said it has always notified the teenage user and their parents when they were approaching the age of “digital consent” and could make changes to their account.
But, after a policy change this week, the parent will now have to approve any changes to the supervision of the account.
The issue was raised by Melissa McKay, president of US-based online safety group Digital Childhood Institute, after her son received an email from Google.
A screenshot of the email read: “Your birthday’s coming up. That means when you turn 13, you can choose to update your Google Account to get access to more Google apps and services, customize your Google Account to make it your own.”
Ms McKay wrote on LinkedIn: “A trillion dollar corporation is directly contacting every child to tell them they are old enough to ‘graduate’ from parental supervision.
open image in galleryThe screenshot of the email sent to Melissa McKay’s son (Melissa McKay / LinkedIn)“The email explains how a child can remove those controls themselves, without parental consent or involvement.
“Google is asserting authority over a boundary that does not belong to them. It reframes parents as a temporary inconvenience to be outgrown and positions corporate platforms as the default replacement.
“Call it what it is. Grooming for engagement. Grooming for data. Grooming minors for profit.”
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said allowing children to make such decisions about their own accounts could put them in harm’s way.
Rani Govender, the NSPCC’s policy manager for child safety online, told The Independent: “Every child develops differently, and parents and carers should be the ones to decide with their child when the right time is for parental controls to change and how they want to approach this as a family.
“Leaving children to make decisions in environments where misinformation is rife, user identities are unknown, and risky situations occur, can put them in harm’s way.”
Google has since announced it would change its policy for accounts belonging to those approaching the age of 13.
The company’s global head of privacy, safety and security, Kate Charlet wrote on LinkedIn: “Currently, Google emails both children and their parents before the minor reaches the age of digital consent to help ensure the transition to a teen account is a collaborative family decision.
open image in galleryGoogle said it was changing its policy for accounts for teenagers (PA Archive)“Under our planned policy update, any supervised minor will have to get parental approval before they can turn off supervision.”
A Google spokesperson told The Independent: “Building on our commitment to family safety, we’re making a planned update to require formal parental approval for teens to leave a supervised account.
“These changes better ensure protections stay in place until both the parent and teen feel ready for the next step.
“This builds on our existing practice of emailing both the parent and child before the change to facilitate family conversations about the account transition."
A government spokesperson said: "We expect all platforms covered by the Online Safety Act that operate in the UK to adhere to our laws and put children's safety first.
"We've already taken some of the boldest steps globally to keep children in the UK safe online and make sure content is genuinely age appropriate. The Act places clear duties on tech companies to protect young people from harm.
"These measures strike the right balance: protecting UK children from harm while ensuring they can benefit safely from the digital world."
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