This page describes an important legal restriction related to children younger than 13 who use Habitica, and provides useful resources and tips for parents and children.
Legal Requirement for Children under 13
For legal reasons, if any child younger than 13 uses Habitica, their parent or guardian must give permission. To do so, please email the Habitica staff at admin@habitica.com. Tell them your child's unique username (their "@ username") (from User > Profile) and User ID number (from Settings > API), and include a brief message stating that you give permission for the child to use Habitica.
In cases where this isn't done, Habitica staff have a legal obligation to block any account for a child under 13 as soon as they become aware of the account. If permission is given after that time, the account will be unblocked.
You are also welcome to email the staff if you have questions about this policy.
Resources for Parents Within Habitica
Tips for Helping your Child Use Habitica
The following are two ends of the spectrum of control for managing your child's Habitica account:
- Make an account for your child, where you keep the login details and control whether tasks have been completed. This method is best for young children and ensures that the child cannot cheat the parent.
- Give complete control of the Habitica account to the child and join them in a family party. This is for older children and involves a certain level of trust (especially when it involves damage through boss battles).
Your child can either add their own tasks that they want to complete, or you can add the tasks for them. If you have access to the child's login details, then it could be a good way of communicating tasks that you want completed. An example of this would be to create a tag saying "chores" and then adding the chores in a To-Do Checklist task with the date as the title.
Tips for the Tavern, Guilds and Parties
There are areas in Habitica where your child may meet general Habitica users. Habitica does have the capability of limiting access to the social parts of Habitica, such as the Tavern, Guilds and Parties. If you choose to limit your child's account to certain public areas (for example they can access their party, but not the Tavern or Guilds), you can email Lemoness, our Community Manager, at leslie@habitica.com.
Information for Socialites
When a Socialite sees an adult player posting about their child using Habitica, they can advise the adult player about the legal restriction related to children younger than 13. Lemoness has suggested that these words be used:
- Hi <NAME>! Just as a heads up, due to restrictions imposed by the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Habitica cannot allow kids under the age of 13 to use this website without their parent or legal guardian's permission. You will need to email Lemoness at leslie@habitica.com with your child's display name and User ID (from Settings > API), and include a statement that A) you are their parent or legal guardian, and B) you give your full permission for them to use Habitica. If you have any questions or concerns about Habitica, you can include those in the email as well!
When a Socialite sees a player state that they are under 13, the Socialite should immediately flag the child's message and not interact with the child further in any way. This includes not posting the above message to the child.
If a Socialite merely suspects that a player is underage, they should take no action related to that. Do not inquire directly or indirectly about the child's age, or explain to them that they need to be over 13 (this is to protect their privacy and to prevent them feeling that they should claim to be older than they are). Assume that the child is 13 or older unless there is proof otherwise. However if they are violating the Community Guidelines with spamming or any other undesirable behaviour, it is still appropriate to flag their messages, as you would for any player.