Test age gates and age-restricted content with test accounts

Testing age gates and age-restricted content

An age gate has as many paths as there are birthdays worth testing: under 13, a teenager, an adult, someone who turns 18 tomorrow. Each one needs its own account, and you need to remember which is which.

Updated October 13, 2026

Why one test account isn’t enough

Age rules usually decide several things at once: whether someone can sign up at all, whether a parent has to agree first, what content and features they see, and which emails they get. A single adult test account only ever checks one of those paths. The bugs live at the edges: the 12-year-old who slips through, the 17-year-old who’s shown 18+ content, the user whose birthday is today.

The accounts you need

Account	Date of birth	What it checks
Under 13	10 years ago	Sign-up is blocked, or a parent has to consent before the account works
Parent	An adult	The consent email arrives, its link works once, and the child’s account unlocks
13 to 15	14 years ago	Teen defaults: limited content, messaging, ads and marketing consent
16 or 17	17 years ago	Still a minor: 18+ content stays hidden
Turns 18 tomorrow	18 years ago tomorrow	Still treated as 17 today
Turned 18 today	18 years ago today	Unlocked today, not tomorrow
Adult	30 years ago	The full experience
21 or over	21 years ago	Higher limits where they apply, such as alcohol in the US

The age at which children can agree to data use on their own also differs by country (between 13 and 16 in the EU), so add a teenager for each country with a different rule.

Set them up in a few minutes

Create the set in one go. On Accounts, choose Add account, set How many to the number of bands, give the batch a label such as “Age gate” and tick Generate persona, so each one has a name and username for the sign-up form.
Sign up as each one with the date of birth for its band. Use a private window for each, so no session carries over.
Write the date of birth in each address’s notes and tag it with its band, such as u13, teen or 18+. Tags become filters on the Accounts page.
Save the password on each address, so you can sign in as “the 17-year-old” again next week without guessing.

What to check

Sign-up: under-13s are stopped or sent to parental consent, and nobody gets past the gate by going back and changing the date.
Content and features: 18+ pages, purchases, chat and personalised ads are hidden or switched off for minors, including through direct links.
Consent: the parent’s email names the child, its link works once, and declining keeps the account locked.
Boundaries: the “tomorrow” and “today” accounts behave differently, in the time zone your rules use.
Emails: welcome and marketing emails suit the reader’s age. A minor shouldn’t get alcohol, gambling or adult promotions.

The emails to check

The welcome, parental consent, “your parent approved your account” and reminder emails each arrive on the right row. Links become one button named for what they do, and codes get a Copy button. Open the inbox to read the whole email and check the wording suits the age of the person reading it.

Use these accounts only on apps you build or are allowed to test, in development, staging or QA.

Try it on your next sign-up test

Free plan, no credit card. Create an address and watch the code or link arrive.

Create a free accountOpen the app

Questions

Does Proxy Mail QA generate a date of birth?

No. Personas have a first name, last name and username. Choose the date of birth for the band you're testing, enter it in your app, and write it in the address's notes so anyone can see which account is which.

Can I test a parental consent flow?

Yes. Create two addresses: one for the child's account and one for the parent. Sign up as the child, give the parent's address when asked, and the consent email arrives on the parent's row with its link ready to click.

Do I need a new account for each age?

For each age band, yes: most apps don't let people change their date of birth after sign-up. Create the whole set at once, up to 50 addresses, and note the date of birth on each.