Roblox has implemented new age-based rules since the turn of the year to protect children from contact with adult users, according to official sources. To chat or play certain games on Roblox, users must age-verify themselves, for example through facial scanning or by verifying with an ID card. According to BBC, Roblox justifies the changes with recurring criticism that the platform has not sufficiently protected children from adults trying to exploit them.
The age verification data is used to place players into the correct age group using AI, official sources said. If a user is nine years old, they can chat and play with users under 13 years old, while if a user is 18 years or older, they cannot chat with children, according to official statements. This system aims to segment interactions, though the specific methods and criteria Roblox uses for its AI to place users in age groups remain unclear.
Roblox faces criticism and legal challenges over insufficient child protection and age verification accuracy. An investigation by SVT's Lilla Aktuellt shows that more than every third user has been misplaced in the wrong age group, according to official sources. Last year, the platform was sued by several US states that believe the safety and age verification are still insufficient to protect players, official sources reported. The move comes the week after the mother of a 14-year-old girl was groomed into sending sexually explicit images of herself to an 18-year-old man said the platform was not doing enough to protect children, according to major media reports.
Roblox is a virtual world where players can create their own games and chat with friends or with completely unknown people from around the world, official sources described. It has 140 million players every day, and more than 40 percent of users are under 13 years old. This massive user base, particularly its young demographic, underscores the urgency of safety measures amid growing scrutiny.
Independent experts have tested the system and usually assess children's age within 18 months. And if it goes wrong, there are several ways to update the age. No system is perfect and we are constantly working to make the game safer.
Roblox has defended a major expansion of its child safety system, despite complaints from parents that the game's user-age estimation can misclassify children and put them into less-protected versions of the service, according to major media reports. Parents told the BBC some children have been incorrectly identified as adults during the age-check process, which they say can reduce parental controls, major media sources indicated. The exact number or percentage of users who have been misplaced in the wrong age group according to Roblox's own data is not publicly available.
Roblox is extending its tech to introduce age-specific accounts called Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, major media reports state. A user's estimated age will now determine the version and individual features of Roblox they can access, what content they see, and who they can communicate with, according to major media. Roblox will from mid-May be divided into three age-based worlds: Roblox Kids, Roblox Select, and regular Roblox, major media sources said.
Roblox Kids, aimed at younger children, features a simplified interface, no communication tools, and access only to a curated set of games, major media reports describe. For Roblox Kids, chat is turned off by default and they get access to the mildest games, according to major media. This setup is designed to minimize risks for the youngest users in the virtual environment.
Roblox Select, for users aged nine to 15, allows limited communication and a broader but still restricted content library, major media reports indicate. Roblox Select users get to explore a bit more content and chat with previously known friends, according to major media. In the US, the age spans are 5–8 years for Roblox Kids, 9–15 years for Roblox Select, and 16+ for regular accounts, major media sources stated.
When you ask them that simple question, users are going to tell you whatever they want to tell you in order to get access.
Under the changes, users who do not complete an age check will be restricted to children's content and barred from communication on the platform, major media reports say. If one has not verified their age by June at the latest, they will automatically be placed in a Roblox Kids-like experience without chat or games with higher age limits, regardless of age, according to major media. This default placement aims to enforce safety for unverified accounts, though the timeline and global rollout details for the new age-based rules beyond the US and mid-May start mentioned are not fully specified.
Roblox's age-estimation system, which includes facial analysis, is now used by more than half of its daily users, amounting to tens of millions of people worldwide, according to major media reports citing Matt Kaufman. The age-estimation system typically estimates age within about 1.4 years, plus or minus, for those under 18, Matt Kaufman told major media. Roblox has not published data showing how often children are incorrectly classified as older users, a key unknown in evaluating the system's reliability.
The company says this is designed to reduce the risk of grooming and unwanted contact on the platform, according to major media reports citing Roblox. The most adult content is locked until one turns 18, major media sources noted. The effectiveness of the new age-specific accounts (Roblox Kids and Roblox Select) in reducing grooming and unwanted contact remains to be seen, as Roblox has not released detailed metrics on this outcome.
To decide which experiences are made available to under-16s, Roblox uses a range of signals including how long a game has been on the platform and the history and usage patterns of people who make games within the platform, Matt Kaufman told major media. The games people make will also have to meet suitability criteria, and those which include social or free-form elements will not be default-available on the Kids and Select accounts, according to major media. This curation approach aims to filter content based on safety signals rather than manual review alone.
Developers also get new rules to ensure correct age labeling, major media reports state. Developers now need to verify themselves and pay five dollars a month for Roblox Plus, according to major media. An AI will also monitor gaming sessions to double-check that the content matches the labeling, major media sources said, adding another layer of oversight to the platform's ecosystem.
These changes represent a significant shift in how Roblox manages user safety, with implications for both child protection and platform dynamics. While the new rules aim to address longstanding concerns, questions persist about the accuracy of age estimation and the real-world impact of the segmented accounts. As Roblox rolls out these measures, ongoing monitoring will be crucial to assess whether they effectively mitigate risks in a virtual world frequented by millions of young players.