New York SAFE Rules Set January 2027 Age Checks For Algorithmic Feeds

New York’s Office of the Attorney General said users under 18 will lose algorithmic feeds and overnight notifications from January 25, 2027 unless a parent provides consent.

Search and other unrestricted parts of a social platform must remain available.

The final SAFE for Kids Act rules reach the State Register on July 29, 2026.

Platforms now have to build age checks and parental approval flows without collecting more identity data than the rules allow.

Final Rules Cover Feeds And Overnight Alerts

The SAFE for Kids Act applies to addictive online platforms.

According to the Office of the Attorney General, the covered group consists of services built around user-generated posts where addictive feeds account for at least 20 percent of user time.

The covered features are algorithmically personalised feeds and notifications sent to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.

For minors, the default product path changes from personalised recommendation streams to an ordered feed based on material the user follows or chooses, including chronological presentation.

Access to the algorithmic feed can continue only when parental consent is obtained, and the same consent condition applies to late-night notifications.

The law does not require a full lockout from the platform.

Minor users must still be able to access content through non-restricted parts of the service, including search, even when parental consent for the age-gated features is missing.

Age Assurance Must Preserve A Data Boundary

The final rules do not prescribe one age-checking technology.

Social media companies may use methods that meet accuracy benchmarks and protect user data, including an uploaded image or video, or verification through an email address or phone number cross-checked against other age-reflecting information.

A government-issued ID can be one option, but the rule package requires at least one alternative.

Data gathered for either age checks or parental approval has to be deleted or anonymised once that task is complete, and companies must collect only the minimum information needed for the age decision.

Covered companies need a high-accuracy age-assurance process and annual testing cycles, with results retained for at least 10 years.

Parental Consent Keeps Search Outside The Gate

Consent flows must start with the minor requesting access to restricted features and agreeing that a parent will be notified.

A parent who grants consent must also pass age assurance, but the platform is not required to show the parent the minor's search history or topics of interest.

Both the parent and the minor can withdraw consent at any time.

That structure turns the compliance task into an ongoing permissions workflow rather than a one-time age check at account creation.

The enforcement risk is financial as well as operational.

The SAFE for Kids Act allows the Office of the Attorney General to pursue orders halting violations and civil fines capped at $5,000 for each breach.

Courts May Shape The Compliance Window

The rules arrive after the law was signed in June 2024.

The rulemaking sequence began with an August 1, 2024 advanced notice, moved to a September 15, 2025 public proposal, and ended with the final age-assurance and parental-consent structure.

The Verge's coverage noted that opponents of age verification could still seek to block the rules, after other state social media age-verification laws faced legal challenges.

For platforms, the January 2027 date is therefore a compliance deadline with litigation risk still attached.

New York has set the operational standard in the public record, but court challenges have not yet resolved whether the final rules will take effect unchanged.