I think, personally, 12 or older. However, I got mine when I was 9 or 10 due to a specific situation. My best friend, the first friend I ever had, moved away at that age. I received the cell phone to make long distance calls, as did my sister. After she cut off her friendship with my best friend and had no reason otherwise for a cell phone, our "shared" iphone we got later on became my iphone.