Roblox is rolling out a stricter age verification system and age-based chat restrictions following criticism over child safety and increasing global regulations. The gaming platform will use a facial age estimation tool from Persona, requiring a video selfie for age assessment, which is deleted after processing. This scan is mandatory only for private messaging, not general use.
Children under 13 can only chat outside games with explicit parental permission. Unlike other platforms, Roblox does not encrypt private conversations, allowing monitoring and moderation. Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, stated the system estimates age within one to two years for users aged five to 25, but users can provide ID or parental consent if they disagree.
Verified users will be assigned to age brackets: under nine, nine to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and over 21. Chat functionality will be restricted to interactions within their assigned group or similar age categories. The new measures will be enforced in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in the first week of December, before a global rollout in early January.
This move reflects a broader trend among tech companies to implement robust verification systems amid lawsuits accusing Roblox of being a “playground for predators”. Roblox stated it has rigorous safety measures, including AI models and a team of thousands moderating the platform 24/7, and added 100 new safeguards this year, including facial age estimation.
Roblox has 111 million daily active users. The company said it implements strict safety defaults for its youngest users, including no direct messaging outside games for under-13s without parental controls, text chat filters to block inappropriate content, and no user-to-user image sharing.
