What age is it really for? What their terms actually say
If you are a parent working out whether an app suits your teenager, you mostly find opinions. Here is something else: what each platform's own terms of service say, read on their own site rather than in a blog. The answer is surprising, because it is almost always 18.
The numbers, checked one by one
Read in July 2026, at each publisher's own source.
| Platform | Stated age | Verifies age? |
|---|---|---|
| Monkey | 18 | No, self-declaration |
| OmeTV | 18 | A mechanism is described |
| Yubo | 18 (since 1 November 2025) | Yes, for everyone since 2022 |
| Omegle | Shut down since November 2023 | |
| PLOXX | 15 | No, but ages are separated |
Only four platforms, and that is deliberate: every line was read in the publisher's own terms. A fourteen-line table with two wrong entries would be worth less than this one.
The real finding: 18 stated, nothing checked
Monkey puts it in writing: the services are not available to persons under the age of 18. And the only mechanism provided is that you declare you are 18 on the way in. That is all.
The practical consequence, which is the one that matters to a parent: an app that states 18 without checking is not an app without teenagers. It is an app where teenagers sit among adults with nothing marking them apart, and where the publisher can reply that they should not have been there.
That clause is not a protection for your child. It is a protection for the publisher.
The exception, and what it tells you
One platform genuinely does the work: Yubo has required age assurance from all its users since 2022. And here is the interesting part: it is precisely the one that ended up removing minors. It raised its minimum age to 18 on 1 November 2025, after gradually deactivating the accounts of 13 to 17 year olds, with the sunsetting completed in late October.
In other words, the only platform that actually knew who its minors were concluded it would rather not have any. If your teenager had a Yubo account, they no longer do.
OmeTV, for its part, describes an age-gating stack (operating system signals, third-party accounts, verification services). Describing is not proving, but it is already more than average.
And PLOXX? The honest answer
PLOXX accepts users from 15, and does not verify age either. Better written here than left to be assumed: we ask for a date of birth on arrival, it cannot be changed afterwards, and there is no identity document and no third-party check. On that specific point, Yubo does better than we do.
What we do, and it is not nothing: we use the declared age instead of filing it in the terms.
- 15 to 17 year olds are matched with each other, in a pool separate from adults.
- Below 15, matchmaking is refused.
- The camera is never required: an avatar or text-only are complete modes.
So the question to ask an app is not only "what is the minimum age?" but "what do you do with the age once it is declared?". A platform stating 18 and mixing everyone protects less than a platform stating 15 and separating.
The measures and their limits are set out on Is PLOXX safe? and in the guide for parents.
What this table does not tell you
Its limits, for honesty:
- It reflects July 2026. These rules move, and Yubo has just shown how fast.
- It covers what publishers state. Apart from Yubo, nobody publishes evidence of effectiveness.
- Azar was removed from it: its July 2024 terms say 17, more recent versions could not be read, and publishing an uncertain figure about a named company would be worse than saying nothing.
- A stated age says nothing about moderation, which matters at least as much.
Frequently asked questions
Is Monkey an app for teenagers?
Its terms say the opposite: the services are not available to anyone under 18. But no verification is described, only a declaration on the way in. Teenagers are therefore on it, among adults.
My teenager has a Yubo account, is that still possible?
No. Yubo moved to a minimum age of 18 on 1 November 2025 and deactivated minors' accounts, with the sunsetting completed in late October 2025. It is also the only platform on this list to require age assurance, and has done since 2022.
Is Omegle dangerous for my child?
Omegle shut down in November 2023. The useful question is which clone your child is using instead, because several reuse the name or the concept.
Does PLOXX verify age?
No, and we would rather write it down. The date of birth is declared on arrival and cannot be changed afterwards, with no third-party check. What we do is match 15 to 17 year olds with each other, separately from adults, which is a structural measure rather than a line in the terms.
Why only four platforms?
Because each line was read at the publisher's own source. Adding approximate figures to lengthen the table would make it less useful, not more. It will grow as checks are done.