UAE Social Media Age 15: What Parents Need to Do Now

Children under 15 may no longer create, use or operate a personal social media account in the UAE, and a parent's permission does not change that. Children aged 15 to under 16 can use platforms, but only with extra protections. The rule is Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026, in force since 30 June 2026, and the platforms have until about 30 June 2027 to catch up.

What the rule says, by age

• Under 15: no personal account. That means no posting, commenting, sharing or joining public groups
• 15 to under 16: allowed, with age-appropriate content limits, restricted contact with strangers, usage-time tools and parental controls
• 16 and over: the resolution sets no extra limit

The rule covers any social media platform available in or aimed at the UAE, free or paid, wherever the company is based.

Does my permission count?

No. The text says the consent of a caregiver, or anyone else, is not an exception to the ban or the restrictions. That is a difference for many of us: families who moved here from countries where a parent's yes opens the door will find it does not open this one.

What platforms have to do

The weight sits on them, not on you. The government's media office says platforms must verify age properly: a date of birth typed in is not accepted. Accepted routes include a digital government ID, a scanned official document matched to a face, or AI age estimation, and the data collected has to be kept to the minimum. Platforms must also close accounts held by under 15s, block workarounds, and stop using children's data for targeted advertising.

The twelve-month window means you may not see all of this on your child's phone yet. Plan for it anyway.

Your four duties as a parent

Article 6 of the resolution names what a caregiver must do. In plain words:

• Do not help your child open or use a personal account
• Do not get around the age check or give false details to get them in
• Keep an eye on what your child does online, so they are not exploited or exposed to risk
• Talk to them about the risks and about using it sensibly for their age

The resolution text we read lists these duties but states no penalty for parents. The penalties it describes (warnings, fines, blocking) are for platforms.

Please don't open an account for them

The TDRA's Director of Policies and Programmes, Abdulrahman Al Marzouqi, was direct about the loophole: "We do not expect parents to go and create accounts on behalf of their children and hand them the phones so they can use these accounts." He called that a form of circumvention. A fake birth date, an account in your name that your 12 year old actually uses, an older cousin's login: all the same thing.

If your child is 15 or 16

Expect new settings. Platforms must give you tools to decide when and for how long your teen can use the app, what kind of content they see, and their privacy settings. You can adjust those, but you cannot switch off the protections. When the tools appear on the apps your teen uses, go through them together rather than setting them in secret.

Child creators and family accounts

A child can still be part of making content, as long as an adult owns, logs into and manages the account. The TDRA's view: if the parent is the one logging in and the content is positive and purposeful, there is no issue. The child contributes, the adult posts.

Five things to do this week

• Ask your child which apps they use and which of them have accounts, without it turning into a trial
• Look up the games they play on Sannif, the government's game-checking site
• Agree on screen-free times at home, and put the phones somewhere that is not the bedroom
• Fill the gap with something offline: our free things to do with kids in Dubai and best indoor playgrounds are a start
• Read what your school already expects: UAE school rules on screens

If you are not sure whether a rule applies to your family, our guide to trusted UAE government information sources shows where to check. Not sure how old your child is for the school year? See UAE school year groups by birth date. And if you want to compare notes with other mums, the conversation is happening in the mumma community.

Sources

• Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 Regarding the Regulation of Children's Access to Social Media Platforms, UAE Legislation: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/4506
• Children's digital safety, the official platform of the UAE Government: https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/social-affairs/Priority-groups/children/Childrens-digital-safety
• Reuters, UAE sets minimum social media age at 15, mandates age checks, 18 June 2026: https://www.reuters.com/technology/uae-sets-minimum-social-media-use-age-15-media-office-says-2026-06-18/
• Khaleej Times, parents urged to use new controls, not create fake accounts for kids, 6 July 2026: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/social-media-ban-parents-urged-use-controls-not-make-fake-accounts-for-kids
• Latham & Watkins, UAE's restrictions on children's access to social media: https://www.lw.com/en/insights/uaes-restrictions-on-childrens-access-to-social-media-what-social-media-platforms-should-know