Twitter account locked during age verification: how X restores it and the 30-day deadline

X has locked the account over your age, and the advice you find first says to send a photo of your ID.

For most people in this spot, X asks for nothing of the kind.

Short answer: if your Twitter account is locked during age verification because you signed up before 13 and are old enough now, X restores it through a prompt in the account, with no ID. You confirm your contact information, X removes data from before you turned 13, and the process can take up to 72 hours. The catch: you have 30 days to proceed, and after that you can no longer regain access.

Below: the two routes X documents, what gets deleted, what you keep, and when a parent has to step in.

Why Twitter locks an account over age

Twitter is now X, and X sets a floor. It requires people using the service to be 13 years of age or older, and its Terms repeat that you must be at least 13 years old to use X.

Enforcement is automatic in X's own description. It says it automatically offboards anyone who does not meet its age requirements.

The lock is the form that takes. X's page on parental consent says that if you do not meet its age requirements, it will lock your account. You'll then receive a notice saying X needs parental consent to re-activate it.

So a Twitter age verification account locked notice is about the birth date on the account, not about anything you posted.

Two routes back into an age-locked X account

X documents two separate ways back, and which one applies depends on your age today.

The first is account restoration. It is for people who signed up before they were 13 and now meet the minimum age requirement.

The second is parental consent. It is for people who still need a parent or guardian to approve their use of X.

The two ask for different things and take different amounts of time.

Mixing them up is where most of the wrong advice comes from, so work out which one your notice describes before you do anything.

How to restore a Twitter account locked for age when you're old enough now

X's page on account restoration says you'll be prompted to start the process through your X account. The route has four parts:

1. Log in to the locked account and open the prompt X shows you.
2. Confirm your contact information is correct when X asks.
3. Proceed with the restoration, which removes some data from before you turned 13.
4. Wait for X's notice, sent through X and by email, that the account is ready.

The second step matters more than it looks. X uses that email address to tell you the account is ready, so an old or mistyped address leaves you waiting for a message that never comes.

Read the removal list below before the third step. What goes doesn't come back.

X does not ask for an ID on the restoration route

This corrects the most repeated tip. The restoration page asks for no identification.

What it asks is that you confirm your contact information is correct. That is the whole check.

No X page tells a user who is now 13 or older to upload a passport or a driving licence to lift this lock.

A site, a message or a stranger may ask you to send one. That isn't X's documented process.

ID does appear in X's documentation, but on the other route, and it belongs to the parent.

What X removes when it restores an age-locked Twitter account

Restoration has a price. X says you can regain access to your account by removing some data, and it lists what goes:

• posts you posted before you were 13
• Likes you gave before you were 13
• Direct Messages you sent and received before you were 13
• profile details other than your handle and date of birth
• Moments, Lists and collections you saved

This isn't an optional offer. Removal is the condition for getting back in.

Note the fourth line. By X's wording, every profile detail except the handle and the date of birth goes, so expect to rebuild the profile.

What you keep after restoration on X

The parts that make the account yours survive. X says your handle, contact information, date of birth, people you follow, and the people who follow you will not be affected.

So the username stays, and so does the audience.

The numbers may look wrong at first. X notes that follower and following counts can sometimes take up to 24 hours or so to return.

Give it a day before you worry about missing followers.

How long does restoring an age-locked Twitter account take?

Up to three days. X says the process can take up to 72 hours, and that it will notify you through X and email when your account is ready.

That is the documented figure for the restoration route. It isn't "a few business days", and it isn't instant.

During those hours there is nothing to do. X describes no step that shortens a process it has already started.

Check the email inbox you confirmed, including the spam folder, before you assume something has gone wrong.

The 30-day deadline on an age-locked X account

This is the fact most write-ups leave out, and it is the one that costs people accounts.

X states it plainly. When your account is eligible for restoration, you'll have 30 days to proceed, after which you'll no longer be able to regain access to your account.

The parental consent page carries the same 30-day window.

So the lock isn't something to deal with next month. If the prompt is on your screen today, start today.

The parental consent route on Twitter for users who still need it

If you can't use restoration, X prompts you to have your parent or guardian fill out a form. The sequence runs like this:

1. X notifies you of the lock.
2. Your parent or guardian fills out the form and provides proof of identification and guardianship.
3. X follows up with the parent if it needs more.
4. X tells you when you're approved and cleared to get back into your account.

This route is slow. X says it can take up to 60 days to process the request.

The ID here is the adult's, and it serves to show who they are and that they're your guardian. X doesn't name specific documents.

What happens to documents a parent sends to X

Parents are right to ask. X answers in one sentence.

Any supporting documentation sent to X will be kept confidential and deleted from its systems after it reviews them.

That commitment covers the parental consent form. It is one more reason to send documents only through that form, and never by direct message or to an email address someone gives you.

Parental consent on X can apply above the age of 13

Thirteen isn't the line everywhere. X notes that in some countries, the law requires a parent or guardian to give consent for people older than 13 but under the age of consent in their country.

That explains a case that confuses families. A 14-year-old can meet X's minimum age and still be asked for parental consent, because of where they live.

If that's you, the restoration route may not be offered. The notice will ask for a parent.

Your privacy settings change after restoration on Twitter

There is a side effect once you're back in. X says you'll be opted out of some personalization and data sharing settings.

You can review all of your privacy and safety settings and make any changes after the restoration process is complete.

Teen accounts get stricter defaults as well. X's page for parents and minor users says accounts belonging to known minors are defaulted to protected posts. They also receive Direct Messages only from accounts they follow.

The birth date rules X applies to an account

X's rule on birth dates is short. The date of birth entered must be of the person operating the account.

It explains why it asks. Your birth date lets X know that you're old enough to use its services.

There's a lock-in for minors too. Once an account enters a date of birth that makes it under the age of 18, X says it will be stopped from re-entering a new date of birth.

So changing the date again isn't a way out of an age lock. The documented exits are restoration and parental consent.

Age Assurance on X is a different system

The phrase "age verification" also gets used for something else. X runs a separate system called Age Assurance, which is about being 18 or over.

X's Age Assurance page says it is used where law requires it.

The methods range from existing account signals, through estimation based on email or phone, to facial age estimation by live selfie or ID verification with a government-issued ID.

The outcome is a content limit, not a lock. Until X can determine that a user is 18 or over, they may not be able to access sensitive media.

If the app still opens and only some media is blocked, this is the system you've met.

When restoration on Twitter doesn't work

Sometimes the prompt doesn't appear, or the process stalls. X asks you to let it know, and it provides a form for problems with restoration.

For Age Assurance decisions, the appeal is by contacting X Support through the app or website.

A general route covers everything else. X says that if you feel your account has been locked in error, you can appeal by contacting its support team.

Use that last one if the birth date on the account was simply wrong. Explain it in plain words.

Objections people raise about age locks on X

"Sending my ID will be quicker." The restoration route doesn't ask for one.

"I'll lose everything." You keep the handle, your followers and the people you follow. Early posts, Likes and messages go.

"I'll sort it out later." The 30-day window is the one part of this that can't be undone.

"I'll just make a new account." You'd give up the handle and the audience that restoration keeps.

Log in, open the prompt, check the email address X has for you, and start the process today.

What people ask about age locks

Can someone report an account they think belongs to a child under 13?

Yes. X says anyone can report a suspected under-13 account through a dedicated form.

Which laws does X name for Age Assurance?

X lists the UK Online Safety Act, the Irish Online Safety Code, the EU Digital Services Act and Australia's Online Safety Act.

Does X say that editing your birthday triggers the lock?

No. X describes who the restoration route is for, people who signed up before 13, but it doesn't say what prompts the lock.