Roblox, the globally popular gaming platform, has announced a sweeping expansion of its age verification systems in response to growing concerns over child safety. The move comes amid lawsuits and criticism alleging the platform has failed to adequately protect its youngest users.
In a blog post published, Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer, confirmed that by the end of 2025, all users accessing communication features—such as chat and voice—will be subject to age estimation. This will involve facial age estimation technology, government ID checks, and verified parental consent.
The platform, which sees around 100 million daily users, revealed that children under 13 accounted for approximately 40% of its user base in 2024. Roblox has faced mounting scrutiny, including a lawsuit filed by the US state of Louisiana in August, accusing the company of facilitating child exploitation and failing to implement sufficient safety protocols.
To address these concerns, Roblox has launched over 100 safety initiatives since January 2025. These include:
- Trusted Connections: A system that limits communication between adults and minors unless they know each other in real life.
- Roblox Sentinel: An open-source AI tool designed to detect early signs of child endangerment.
- Enhanced moderation tools: Including real-time avatar detection and server scanning to identify and shut down rule-breaking environments.
- Content rating partnerships: Roblox has joined the International Age Rating Coalition to apply standardised age ratings to user-created experiences.
- Stricter experience guidelines: Unrated experiences are now unplayable, and the age limit for restricted content has been raised from 17 to 18.
Roblox also continues to block inappropriate content in public chat, prevent user-to-user image sharing, and restrict private messaging and voice chat for users under 13 years old. Parental controls allow families to customise these settings to suit their child’s needs.
“This is about creating a safer, more transparent environment for all users,” Kaufman said. “We’re building a platform where people of all ages can explore, create, and connect in age-appropriate ways.”
The announcement aligns with global efforts to tighten online age controls. In the UK, the Online Safety Act mandates strict age verification for websites and social platforms, while France and other EU nations are trialling new tools to regulate access to adult content.
Roblox’s latest safety measures mark a significant step forward in digital child protection, setting a precedent for other platforms navigating the complex intersection of user growth and online safety.
