How to use age-gating with Klaviyo
You will learn
Learn about age-gating in Klaviyo, which may allow brands to send otherwise prohibited content via SMS in most countries where SMS is available.
This information is intended solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. The content provided is general in nature and may not reflect the most up-to-date information. Klaviyo strongly advises consulting with a qualified legal counsel to ensure your compliance with applicable laws and regulations in connection with your use of our services.
What is allowed with Klaviyo age-gating
Brands falling under the following industries may be able to send SMS if they use age-gating (prohibited content rules apply to all industries):
- Alcohol
- Firearms
- Tobacco
- Sex
However, what's allowed depends on the country you're sending to, the sending number you're using, and the legal age of consent. Please open the dropdowns below to learn more.
Alcohol
Age-gating for alcohol is available in the countries listed below. Check where SMS is available for general SMS coverage. Age-gating for alcohol is not available in Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Mexico, or Brazil.
Klaviyo applies these minimum ages:
- 21 in the United States.
- 18 in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Australia, France, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
- 18 in Switzerland.
Age-gating for alcohol is available for all sending numbers.
Firearms
Firearm-related content may be allowed with SMS age-gating in the United States.
Country | Age of consent | Sending number |
United States | 21 | Short Code |
Tobacco
Tobacco related content may be allowed with SMS age-gating in the United States.
Country | Age of consent | Sending number |
United States | 21 | Short Code |
Sex
Klaviyo must enable sexual wellness age-gating for your account before you can use it. Certain content in this category may be allowed in the following countries:
Country | Age of consent | Sending number |
United States | 18 | Short Code |
United Kingdom | 18 | Branded Sender ID, Long Code |
Canada | 18 | Short Code (Vanity) |
Australia | 18 | Branded Sender ID, Long Code |
Netherlands | 18 | Branded Sender ID |
The Bulk Subscribe Profiles API does not support age-gated SMS consent collection in Canada or Denmark. This restriction is separate from the form-based options above.
The opt-in process with age-gating
The SMS age-gating opt-in process has 2 steps:
- Someone enters their date of birth.
- They opt in to SMS, and their date of birth meets the minimum age requirement for the brand and country.
Anyone who is under the required age for a specific country or doesn’t enter their date of birth cannot subscribe through an age-gated form. However, they can subscribe to email.
Will an underage profile automatically become an SMS subscriber when they turn the legal age?
No. A person can only consent after they are legally of-age. Signing up when they’re younger than that age (even if it’s only a day before) doesn’t count.
For instance, if someone in the UK is 17 and tries to subscribe to an alcohol brand, they won’t become an SMS subscriber at that time or automatically when they turn 18. The only way for that individual to subscribe to SMS is to opt in once they are already 18 or older.
If someone fails the age gate, can they try again?
If someone fails an age gate, they’ll receive an error message. However, they can resubmit it (e.g., to fix a typo).
Who is eligible for age-gating with Klaviyo
Age-gating is not available for all industries and countries with Klaviyo:
- Age-gating is available for alcohol, firearms, and tobacco brands, and for sexual wellness brands with access enabled by Klaviyo. Other prohibited content restrictions still apply.
- Age-gating is only available in specific countries and, in some cases, sending numbers.
The table below summarizes restrictions in the United States. For other countries, use the country and sending-number details above.
Industry | Allowed with age-gating? | Allowed in Klaviyo? | Number types | |
Alcohol | Yes Age: 21+ | Yes | Short code and toll-free numbers | |
Firearms | Yes U.S. age: 21+ | Yes (United States) | Short code | |
Sweepstakes (regional laws for sweepstakes may apply) | Yes Age: 18+ | |||
Adult
| Sex toys and lingerie | Yes Age: 18+ | Yes, for accounts with sexual wellness age-gating enabled | Short code |
Sexually explicit content | No | No | N/A | |
Tobacco | Tobacco, including vapes containing nicotine, and tobacco-related paraphernalia | Yes U.S. age: 21+ | Yes (United States) | Short code |
Illegal Substances | CBD/Cannabis, including CBD/Cannabis vapes and CBD/Cannabis-related paraphernalia | No | No | N/A |
Gambling | Gaming apps, websites, betting apps, casinos | No | No | N/A |
Fireworks | No | No | N/A | |
Hate speech | No | No | N/A | |
Violence | No | No | N/A | |
Profanity | No | No | N/A | |
Illegal drugs | No | No | N/A | |
Requirements for launching SHAFT programs:
- You must implement a robust age gate for any SHAFT-related content at SMS opt in. Asking if the subscriber is of legal age to view SHAFT-related content is not sufficient to meet carrier requirements for a robust age gate. Any age gate must collect the subscriber’s date of birth.
- Review all onsite content to verify it doesn’t contain illegal material or promote unlawful activity.
- Notice: Carriers have full discretion to approve or reject programs, including those that don’t meet their codes of conduct or content policies.
What happens if I try to collect or import SMS consent in a country where age-gating isn’t available?
A profile can be added to Klaviyo without SMS consent. When a profile fails an age-gating check, Klaviyo records the Failed SMS Age Gate metric.
For instance, if an alcohol brand imports a CSV containing both US and Canadian numbers, it must not treat the Canadian numbers as eligible recipients for alcohol-related SMS. Importing a profile does not make an unsupported country eligible for your industry.
The same is true for collecting consent, such as with sign-up forms. We recommend targeting your SMS opt-in methods to countries where age-gating is available.
Use SMS age-gating in Klaviyo
During SMS setup, Klaviyo checks your brand’s content category. Eligible brands may be prompted to add an age gate before continuing.
For you, this process appears as:
- Start the SMS setup process and select countries and sending number types supported for your industry.
- If you select countries where age-gating isn't available, you will not be able to use SMS in those regions. Additionally, if those are the only countries you chose, you will not be able to set up SMS.
- If prompted, click Add an age gate.
- If Klaviyo displays the age-gating requirements for your existing subscribers, review them, click Agree, then click Go to sign-up forms.
- Add an Age gate block to each form that collects SMS consent, following the form guidance below.
If setup blocks your account and does not offer Add an age gate, contact Klaviyo Support to review your eligibility.
Important note for age-gated accounts
Brands using SMS age-gating are responsible for retaining their subscribers’ date-of-birth records, either in Klaviyo or outside Klaviyo.
To check that all subscribers have a DOB if you weren't using age-gating, there are several segments you can use, depending on your setup.
Example 1: Is consented to SMS but there's no DOB
The following segment is useful if you want to add a birthday to a profile so that you have this info all in one place. For instance, you can target an age-gated form to this segment.
- Is consented to SMS
AND - *Does not have a DOB on their profile
*Note that for the second condition, you must change the Type to Text.
Example 2: Is consented for SMS and is above the legal age in a country
If you have dates of birth, create a segment of existing SMS subscribers who meet the minimum age for your industry in a specific country. Include only people who gave SMS consent after reaching that age.
Set the birth-date cutoff to the current date minus the required number of years: 21 or 18, depending on your industry and the country.
To add these subscribers’ date-of-birth records to their age-gated consent:
- Export the segment with phone numbers, the date-of-birth property, and the original SMS consent timestamps.
- Change the date field column to Age Gated Date of Birth.
- Re-import the file, map the date-of-birth column to Age Gated Date of Birth, and apply SMS marketing consent only to the subscribers whose valid consent you have retained. Complete the import.
What you can and can’t do as an age-gated account
Once you’re approved by Klaviyo, you’ll be able to start growing your SMS list and importing subscribers. However, there are some differences in doing this as an account that requires age-gating versus one that doesn’t.
Note that age-gated accounts can only collect promotional consent, not transactional consent.
Collecting SMS consent
Age-gating is not available with all SMS consent collection methods.
Having an age-gated form when a visitor arrives reduces the likelihood of your number from getting audited or shut off.
Check the table below to see how you can grow your SMS list as an age-gated account.
Allowed (with age gate) | Never allowed |
Forms (popups, embeds, etc.) | Subscribe keywords |
Subscribe pages | Consent at checkout |
Tap-to-text forms, pages, and buttons | Smart Opt-in |
API calls with an age-gated date of birth |
The steps to creating SMS forms or subscribe pages are almost the same as they are for non-age-gated accounts.
When creating an age-gated form:
- Add an Age gate block and select its Region to apply the appropriate minimum age.
- Target the form to the same country selected in the Age gate block.
Place the Age gate block on or before the SMS opt-in step. For example, use a multi-step form with the age gate on the first step and SMS opt-in on the second. Visitors must pass the age gate before SMS consent is collected.
- Resolve any form alerts, then click Publish or schedule. To make the form live immediately, select Publish now and click Publish now.
The age-gate field cannot be used to trigger date property flows.
Why can’t I use keywords or consent at checkout?
Standalone subscribe keywords and consent at checkout do not collect the date of birth needed for age-gating. A supported tap-to-text form is different: it collects the date of birth in an Age gate block before the visitor sends the opt-in text.
Can I use the regular date field rather than the age-gate field when collecting SMS consent?
No, you cannot use the normal date field as a replacement for the age gate field.
The normal date input field does not verify that individuals are the legal age. This is because the date for that field is not always a date of birth. While that’s the most common use case, the normal date field can be used for other dates as well, including wedding and due dates.
Importing SMS consent
When importing SMS consent, we strongly recommend including the following columns:
- Age Gated Date of Birth
- SMS Marketing Consent Timestamp
While both fields are optional for the import, retain these records so you can show a carrier that someone was old enough when they became an SMS subscriber.
If the date-of-birth column is missing, Klaviyo displays an Age gated date of birth column not detected warning. You can click Confirm to continue, but you must retain the required date-of-birth and consent records and be able to provide them on request. A missing date of birth does not automatically prevent imported SMS consent; a supplied date of birth that fails the age check prevents consent.
Next steps
After you set up age-gating in your account and review the dos and don'ts, you can begin using SMS. Note that some information in these resources may not apply to age-gated accounts.
- Check out our getting started with SMS resource
- Learn about creating popups to start building your SMS list.
- See how to set up an SMS welcome flow.