Table of Contents
- 1 What can you legally do at 16 in the UK?
- 2 Can my parents take my stuff when I’m 16?
- 3 Is it legal for my parents to go through my phone?
- 4 Do parents have a right to look through their child’s/teen’s phone?
- 5 Can my parents take my phone away from me at 18?
- 6 Is it legal for the police to go through your phone?
What can you legally do at 16 in the UK?
Consent to lawful sexual intercourse. Leave home without your parents/guardians’ consent. Apply for your own home through your local council. Have access to many more banking facilities, including all adult services, except overdrafts and credit.
Can my parents take my stuff when I’m 16?
Absolutely, yes. Long answer: As long as you are a minor, your parents are responsible for you. This includes your behavior, your appearance, and your belongings. So yes, they can take away anything at any time, whether you paid for it or not.
Is it legal for my parents to go through my phone?
When a person turns 18 years of age, they are considered an adult, with all the rights and privileges which come with being an adult. You do that in an adult manner by discussing your feelings with your parents, and letting them know you need your own privacy, including with regard to your phone.
Can your parents take away your phone at 16?
Yes, so long as you are a minor the parents rule the roost.
Is searching your child’s phone illegal?
A parent cannot ask law enforcement to go through their child’s phones for them, unless that parent has already regularly searched the phone and knows its passwords. The same situation applies to a child’s bedroom; you can’t ask police to search the room unless you are already doing so frequently.
Do parents have a right to look through their child’s/teen’s phone?
A good parent should know everything an underage child is doing in the internet. Do parents who pay for their child’s/teen’s phone have a right to look through it without permission, even if the kid isn’t doing anything bad? Legally, yes. But law and ethics are often misaligned.
Can my parents take my phone away from me at 18?
At 18 you are an adult. You are legally competent to purchase a phone and contract for the phone service. If you have paid for the phone and contracted with the phone company, and you are paying for the phone bills, your parents don’t have a right to take it away.
Is it legal for the police to go through your phone?
That means they have every right to go through your phone at will to see what you’re up and make sure you aren’t doing anything illegal. It’s likely legal because minors have few rights other than to be fed, provided education and not be physically or verbally abused. (And I’m not getting into what might really constitute abuse.)
Can my parents search my phone without my permission?
Once you’ve reached the ‘age of consent (18),’ you can buy your own phone, and sign a contract to pay for your own phone service. Then, they will not be able to search your phone without your permission. But, at that time, you should also be moving out of your parents’ home, and get a place of your own.