Roblox is implementing a stricter age verification system and age-based chat restrictions following criticism over child safety and increasing global regulations. The gaming platform will require a video selfie for age assessment, which is mandatory only for private messaging, not general platform use.
The Persona-provided age estimation tool, announced in July, deletes the selfie after processing. Children under 13 can only chat outside games with explicit parental permission. Unlike other platforms, Roblox does not encrypt private conversations, enabling monitoring and moderation.
Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, claims the system accurately estimates age within one to two years for those aged five to 25. He noted that users who disagree with the estimate can provide an ID or use parental consent to correct it.
Following verification, 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 advanced AI models and a team of thousands moderating the platform 24/7. The company said it has added 100 new safeguards this year, including facial age estimation, and maintains strict defaults for under-13 users, including text chat filters and no user-to-user image sharing.
