Google Does Not Appreciate It When You Fudge Your Age

Some Google applications, such as Google+ and AdWords, require you to enter your age in order to verify you’re old enough to participate in the service.

For Google+, the minimum age is 13.

At Boise State, we’ve had reports of at least two people who somehow made a mistake when accessing Google+ for the first time and submitted an age younger than 13 years old.

Google has no tolerance (nor a sense of humor) for you listing your birth year as 2009 instead of 1969. Should that happen, Google will immediately suspend your account. And not just your Google+ account; any Google account for which you use your Boise State username and password will be affected.

This means your Google Apps accounts will be suspended as well.

Once that happens, Google allows a 30 day grace period to re-enable your account.  This involves faxing or uploading a copy of your ID showing your date of birth, and involves a small transaction fee on a credit card. Assuming you’re using a valid credit card, the account will be re-enabled within minutes.

Having to fill out and submit personal details when accessing accounts can be onerous, but it’s important to pay attention to what you’re doing, because if you don’t you may find yourself completely locked out of your accounts.

More info on Google’s age requirements can be found on Google’s website.