Offerwall Age Requirement: 16+ Rules and Age Gates

What is the offerwall age requirement?

On Sharklio, end users must be at least 16 years old to use the offerwall, and users under 18 should use it with the permission of a parent or guardian. Where an offer, an advertiser or local law sets a higher age, the higher age applies, and gambling offers are only for adults of legal age in their country. The wall does not ask anyone for their age, so you, the publisher, must keep younger users away from it, usually with a date of birth question at sign-up.

For the law in depth, read Offerwall COPPA rules: kids’ apps and app stores and Offerwalls and GDPR. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sharklio’s age rule, word for word

Section 4 of the Sharklio Terms of Service, “Eligibility, age, and restricted countries”, says:

“End users must be at least 16 years old to use an offerwall powered by Sharklio, and end users under 18 should use it with the permission of a parent or guardian. Where an offer, an advertiser, or local law sets a higher minimum age, that higher age applies. Age-restricted offers, such as gambling, are only for adults of the legal age in their country. Publishers must not make the offerwall available to people below the applicable minimum age.”

Three other places back it up:

• The Privacy Policy, section 18, says the offerwall is not intended for anyone under 16. Sharklio does not knowingly collect data about anyone below the minimum age, and if it learns that it has, it deletes that data, except records it must keep by law.
• Section 9 of the Terms bans giving “false profile details such as age, country, or gender”, so a user who lies about their age breaks the wall’s rules, not only yours.
• The wall’s footer says that by using the offerwall, users agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, with links to both. There is no age question in the wall.

Sharklio account holders must be at least 18, or the age of majority if higher; end users must be 16. (Checked on October 29, 2026; the live Terms always win.)

Why 16, and not 13 or 18

No single law says “16 for offerwalls”. The number sits where several rules overlap:

GDPR Article 8 changes by country

Article 8 of the GDPR makes consent-based processing for an online service offered directly to a child lawful from 16, and lets each member state lower that age to no less than 13. Ireland kept 16 in section 31 of its Data Protection Act 2018. France chose 15: the CNIL’s recommendation on parental consent explains that parents must consent together with a child under 15. The ICO’s page on online services and consent sets the UK age at 13.

Article 8 governs the legal basis for processing, not who may use a service. A 14-year-old where the consent age is 13 still cannot use a Sharklio wall.

The UK Children’s Code reaches 16 and 17 year olds

The ICO’s Age Appropriate Design Code, or Children’s Code, defines a child as anyone under 18. Its page on services covered by the code says it applies to services “likely to be accessed by children”, which is wider than services aimed at them. For an adult-only service, the focus should be on preventing access, but if children become a substantive, identifiable group of users, the code applies.

So if you welcome UK users aged 16 and 17 and they become a real part of your audience, plan for the code’s 15 standards, such as high privacy by default and no nudge techniques. If you would rather not, set 18 as your minimum for UK users. The Terms allow a higher age than 16, never a lower one.

Why many sites choose 18 anyway

Cash-out methods often decide for you. PayPal’s US user agreement requires individuals to be at least 18, or the age of majority in their state. A 16+ rule fits best where rewards are app currency, game items or gift cards a teenager can actually use.

Age gate options compared

The ICO’s standard on age appropriate application asks for a risk-based approach and lists the main methods, from self-declaration to hard identifiers such as passports. Here is how each fits an offerwall:

Most publishers need two layers: a neutral date of birth for everyone, and a stronger check where money leaves your site. KYC for rewards sites covers that second layer and its costs.

Store age signals in mobile apps

Google’s Play Age Signals API is in beta and returns default ranges of 0 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17 and 18+. Google’s page says it returns signals for users in Brazil since March 17, 2026, and for eligible users in Texas who created accounts after May 28, 2026. Apple’s Declared Age Range framework, from iOS 26, asks people to share an age range; a parent in a Family Sharing group can always share, ask the child each time, or never share. Use both as extras next to your own question, since many users return no answer.

How to collect date of birth sensibly

The FTC’s COPPA FAQ describes a neutral age screen: ask for age “in a neutral manner”, do not default to an age over the limit, do not hint that younger users miss out, and use technical means such as a cookie so a user cannot go back and enter a different age. On a rewards site:

1. Ask once, at sign-up, with the other account fields. Asking on the Earn page tells users which answer unlocks it.
2. Use empty fields for day, month and year. A year list that ends at the cut-off year is not neutral.
3. Do not print the cut-off next to the field. Put the rule in your terms and FAQ.
4. Lock the answer. No editing in settings; corrections go through support, where a request to become older deserves a second look.
5. Block quick retries from the same device or session after a refused sign-up.
6. Check on the server before you build the signed wall link, not only by hiding a button.
7. Unlock on the birthday. Store the date a user becomes eligible, so access opens on their 16th birthday.

The server check is short. In PHP, for example:

$dob = new DateTimeImmutable($user["birth_date"]);
$age = $dob->diff(new DateTimeImmutable("today"))->y;
$canEarn = $age >= 16;

When $canEarn is false, do not build the wall link, show the Earn button, or send offer emails and push messages. Keep the birth date out of the wall: the link needs only the user ID you choose. How the Sharklio offerwall works explains the signed link.

What “parental permission under 18” looks like

The Terms say users aged 16 and 17 “should” have a parent’s or guardian’s permission. Match the proof to the risk:

• App currency or game items: a clear line in your terms and on the Earn page, plus a box users under 18 tick to confirm a parent agrees.
• Cash or gift cards: a confirmation from the parent’s own email address before the first cash-out, with the date recorded.

Tell users under 18 to read each offer’s requirements. Where an offer is for adults only, the higher age applies, and the advertiser can reject or reverse a completion by a 17-year-old. Terms of service for rewards sites shows where your age clauses fit.

Never show the wall in apps aimed at children

An age gate works in a product for teens and adults. It does not fix a product for children. Google Play’s Families policy lists “offerwalls” among formats not allowed when children are in your target audience, and Apple’s App Review Guidelines say Kids Category apps “should not include third-party analytics or third-party advertising.” Keep the wall out entirely if:

• your Play Console target audience includes children, or your app is in the Kids Category;
• your content, characters or marketing are built to appeal to young children; or
• most of your community is under 16, such as a school tool or a game played mostly by young teens.

What to do with an under-age account

The FTC FAQ says general audience operators need not investigate ages, but once they actually know a user is a child, the rules apply. The same logic suits the 16+ rule. When a parent, a support message or a chat post tells you a user is under age:

1. Close the wall the same day. Mark the account not eligible, stop building wall links for it, and remove every earn prompt.
2. Keep the rest of the account if the rest of your service suits their age.
3. Handle the balance under your terms. Do not pay cash to a user below your minimum age. One fair approach is to hold the balance and release it once a parent confirms or the user becomes eligible; say so in your terms before it happens.
4. Keep answering postbacks. Credits and reversals for that user ID can still arrive. Answer with a 2xx status and apply reversals to the held balance.
5. Delete what you should not have. For a user under 13, the FTC FAQ says to meet COPPA’s notice and parental consent requirements or delete the child’s information.
6. Tell Sharklio. The Privacy Policy asks anyone who believes a child’s data has reached Sharklio to write to privacy@sharklio.com. Include the app and the user ID you sent.
7. Fix the cause, such as a promotion aimed at young players.

Frequently asked questions