Setting up an age restriction warning in 1C-Bitrix

Age Restriction Warning Setup in 1C-Bitrix

The "Are you 18 or older?" pop-up is not a decorative element. The absence of such a warning on a site selling alcohol, tobacco, or weapons constitutes an administrative violation. Simply implementing it as a basic popup is not enough: proper handling of crawlers, correct SEO behavior, confirmation storage, and behavior on refusal all matter.

Confirmation Storage Mechanism

The key decision is where to store the consent. Three options:

Cookie — the most common approach. Set for 24 hours or until the end of the session. Advantage: no server resources required. Disadvantage: the user can clear cookies.

Bitrix Session — more reliable for the current visit. Uses \Bitrix\Main\Application::getInstance()->getSession()->set('AGE_CONFIRMED', true). Resets when the browser is closed.

User Profile — if the user is authorized, the confirmation flag can be stored in a user field (UF_AGE_CONFIRMED, type boolean). After a one-time confirmation — never ask again. Combined with cookies for anonymous users.

Recommended scheme: cookie for anonymous users (30 days) + UF field for registered users.

Warning Component

The warning is implemented as a separate component connected in the site template (header.php or via bitrix:main.include). The component checks for the cookie/session and, if no confirmation has been received, renders an overlay.

Component structure:

/local/components/custom/age.warning/
├── class.php
├── templates/
│   └── .default/
│       ├── template.php
│       └── script.js
└── .description.php

In class.php — the check and cookie-setting logic:

public function executeComponent() {
    $cookieName = 'AGE_CONFIRMED';
    $request = \Bitrix\Main\Application::getInstance()->getContext()->getRequest();

    if ($request->getCookie($cookieName) === 'Y') {
        return; // Confirmation already present
    }

    if ($this->arParams['CHECK_AUTH'] === 'Y') {
        global $USER;
        if ($USER->IsAuthorized()) {
            $userFields = CUser::GetByID($USER->GetID())->Fetch();
            if ($userFields['UF_AGE_CONFIRMED'] === '1') {
                return;
            }
        }
    }

    $this->IncludeComponentTemplate();
}

Behavior on Refusal

This is a critical point that is often overlooked. If the user clicks "No, I am under 18" — what happens?

• Redirect to a dedicated page with a message about unavailable content
• Blocking the ability to navigate back via history.pushState
• Setting a refusal cookie (AGE_DENIED=Y) for 24 hours so the popup is not shown again

The refusal page must not contain links to restricted sections. Its URL is usually /age-restricted/ or /sorry/.

SEO and Bots

Search crawlers must not be blocked by the warning. Correct implementation:

1. The warning is rendered only via JS after the page loads — HTML content is available for indexing
2. Server-side checks (302 redirect) apply only to real users, excluding known crawler User-Agents
3. Catalog pages with 18+ products are not blocked from indexing — only the "Buy" button is replaced

// Check: is this a bot?
const isBot = /bot|crawl|spider|slurp|teoma/i.test(navigator.userAgent);
if (!isBot && !getCookie('AGE_CONFIRMED')) {
    showAgeConfirmModal();
}

Event Log Integration

For legally significant sites (licensed activities), the fact of age confirmation is recorded in a log. After the user clicks "Yes", an AJAX request is sent to a controller that records the time, IP, User-Agent, and session identifier — via \Bitrix\Main\Diag\Logger or into a custom table.

Delivery Timeframes

A properly configured warning is an invisible but legally important part of a store's infrastructure.