Roblox prevents children from talking to unknown adults

Children will no longer be able to chat with strange adults on Roblox as part of an expansion of its safety measures.

Users in the UK and US will now need to complete facial age checks before being able to use chat features on one of the world’s most popular gaming platforms.

Roblox has faced criticism for allowing young people to access inappropriate content and communicate with adults.

In March, the company’s chief executive, Dave Baszucki, told the BBC that parents who were concerned about the service “should not allow their children to be on Roblox.”

However, some parents and activists warned that children could still encounter inappropriate content or talk to adults on the platform despite existing safety measures.

Rani Govender, policy manager for children’s online safety at the NSPCC, said young people were exposed to “unacceptable risks” on Roblox, “leaving many vulnerable to online harm and abuse”.

The charity welcomed the platform’s efforts but called on Roblox to “ensure that we deliver change for children on the ground and prevent adult perpetrators from targeting and manipulating young users.”

The platform averaged more than 80 million daily players in 2024, around 40% of them under 13 years old.

The UK Online Safety Act has strict laws for all technology companies specifically aimed at protecting children from harm online.

The communications regulator, Ofcom, is responsible for enforcing the law.

Anna Lucas, director of online safety oversight at Ofcom, said she was pleased with the new age control measures.

“Platforms must now take steps to keep children safe and we are ensuring they meet their responsibilities. There is more to do, but changes are coming.”

In the United States, Roblox faces lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky and Louisiana over concerns about child safety.

Roblox says it will become the first major gaming platform to make facial age verification a requirement to access chat features.

Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief security officer, said in a press conference that the age estimation technology is “pretty accurate.”

He said the system can make close estimates of the span “within one or two years” for users between five and 25 years old.

Currently it can be used voluntarily by anyone in the world.

Mandatory checks will begin in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands in early December before rolling out worldwide in January.

Users who complete the process will be classified into age groups: under nine years old, 9 to 12 years old, 13 to 15 years old, 16 to 17 years old, 18 to 20 years old and 21+.

Players can only chat with other people in similar age ranges, unless they add someone as a “trusted connection,” which is a feature for people they know.

Children under 13 will still not be able to access private messages and certain chats unless their parents give them permission.

The new approach addresses concerns about adults’ contact with younger players.

In a BBC test earlier this year, it was possible for a 27-year-old user and a 15-year-old user on unlinked devices to exchange messages.

At the time, Roblox said attempts to circumvent its rules often involved users trying to move conversations to different platforms.

Age checks will use facial estimation technology through the device’s camera within the Roblox app, to estimate a user’s age.

The images are processed by a third-party provider and deleted immediately after verification is completed, according to the company.

Roblox says parents will still be able to manage their child’s account, including updating the child’s age once verification is complete.

The platform already prohibits sharing images and videos in chats and strongly restricts links to external sites.

The company maintains that the new system will offer more “age-appropriate” experiences across the platform and says it hopes other companies will adopt similar methods.

The changes come as campaign groups ParentsTogether Action and UltraViolet host a first-of-its-kind virtual protest within Roblox.

The group will deliver a digital petition, which has been signed by more than 12,000 people, demanding that the platform adopt stricter child safety measures.

He calls for radical changes and declares: “Roblox must stop being a playground for predators.”