Snapchat asks users for their birthday for a few key reasons:
To comply with laws
Many countries have laws that restrict certain services and content from being accessible to minors. By collecting users’ birthdays, Snapchat can:
- Prevent underage users from accessing inappropriate content or features
- Tailor the user experience for younger users to be more appropriate
- Comply with regulations like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the US
To unlock certain features
Some Snapchat features are only available to users above a certain age. For example, users need to be:
- 13+ to create an account
- 18+ to access Snapchat Discover channels with mature content
- 13+ or have parental consent to use Snapchat’s location-sharing features
By collecting a user’s birthday, Snapchat can enable or restrict features accordingly.
To target ads and recommendations
Knowing a user’s age allows Snapchat to show them more relevant ads and content recommendations. For example, Snapchat may show:
- Teen-focused ads to 13-17 year old users
- Parenting and family products to users in their 30s
- Retirement plans to users over 60
Tailoring ads and content this way leads to a better user experience.
To analyze usage
Collecting birthdays allows Snapchat to better understand how different age groups use the app. The company can analyze trends like:
- What features are most popular with teens vs. young adults vs. older users
- When usage drops off for certain age groups
- Which age groups are most engaged
These insights help Snapchat improve the app over time.
To verify identity
In some cases, Snapchat may use a user’s birthday to help verify their identity and prevent fraud or misuse. For example, if a user tries to create multiple accounts or shows suspicious behavior, Snapchat may require them to verify their birthday to prove they are who they claim.
To personalize the experience
Knowing a user’s age allows Snapchat to tailor parts of the experience to them. For example:
- Wishing users a happy birthday on their special day
- Unlocking special lenses, stickers, or filters around a user’s birthday as a gift
- Suggesting new friends or groups that align with a user’s age group
Small personalizations like this can delight users and improve engagement.
To understand user base demographics
Aggregating users’ birthdays allows Snapchat to analyze demographics like:
- The age distribution of its global user base
- Which age groups are growing or shrinking over time
- How user behavior differs across age ranges
These demographics help Snapchat understand growth opportunities and how to evolve the product for the future.
Conclusion
In summary, Snapchat primarily asks for a user’s birthday to comply with laws regarding minors, unlock age-gated features, personalize the experience, and gain valuable analytics. While some users may be wary of sharing their birthday, Snapchat needs this information to ensure a safe, tailored experience for all age groups.
| Age | Unlocks Features | Viewable Content |
|---|---|---|
| 13+ | Create account | PG content |
| 16+ | Snap Map | Teen content |
| 18+ | Snapchat Discover | Mature content |
This table summarizes some of the age-gated features and content within Snapchat, demonstrating why collecting a user’s birthday is important.
The risks of sharing a birthday
While Snapchat has legitimate reasons for gathering birthdays, there are some risks users should be aware of:
- Birthdays are commonly used security questions, so sharing widely could facilitate identity theft
- Targeted advertising can sometimes feel invasive based on age or birthday
- Once shared, the data can be difficult to delete or amend if inaccurate
However, Snapchat likely stores birthdays securely to mitigate risks, and users always have options like using privacy settings to control how the information is used.
How Snapchat protects birthday data
To keep birthdays safe and private, Snapchat states they:
- Only share birthdays with VERY limited parties like app stores and advertisers
- Take steps to confirm users are the age they claim to be
- Use authentication and encryption to secure the data
- Limit employee access to the sensitive information
- Provide users control like opting-out of targeted ads
Still, it’s wise for users to think carefully before sharing birthday or age data with any app or service online.