Birth Date Issue with Gmail or Google Account

Hi! 

I  ran into this problem and then spent some time around the various Google tools to figure out a solution. There is a back story to this, just to set a context. 

We started a dedicated gmail account for this new set-up, focused around developing zero-plastic products. As we were naively very enthusiastic, I set the birth date of the account to roughly around the date that this idea first came to us. It was around our first anniversary. We were discussing a few things and were getting very worried about daily loads of plastic waste generated in our household. So decided to do something about it. 

But soon, I realized the mistake I made by setting the birth date to something recent. Google tagged it as a toddler account, along with all the restrictions around its usage. I couldn't access it from or add it to my mobile. Plus, access to some tools like Google Analytics was cut-off. I was very keen to access the account from phone, since I was getting business mails and had to check the account every now and then. And this is how I solved it. 

Google tagged my account as the parent account and wouldn't let change the birth date to anything beyond 13. So, I went to the Family Link set-up (this is a Google tool to manage accounts within a family) and on 5th July 2020, I changed the birth-date to 6th July 2007 i.e. exactly at 12 years 364 days. The account became 13 years+ by 7th July 2020. From this day on, the account could act as an adult and make whatever modifications. Then from this account I changed the birth date to 6th July 2002 i.e. 18 years plus and all my problems were solved! 

So you can do the same: 

Step One: Login to the Family Link of Google

Step Two: Change the birthdate to 1 day ahead but 13 years back. Example if you are doing this on 11th October, 2020, change it to 12th October 2007. 

Step Three: Wait for two days. Once the account turns 13 years old, take independent control of the account. Now change the birthdate to 18 years +

And you are done!!!