Roblox Requires Age Checks for Communication, Ushering in New Safety Standard

• Safety Gold Standard: Roblox is the first online gaming or communication platform to require facial age checks to access chat, establishing what we believe will become a new industry standard. This innovation supports age-based chat and limits communication between minors and adults.
• Phased Global Introduction: The rollout begins today with a voluntary age check period. The requirement will begin in select markets in early December and expand globally in early January wherever chat is available.
• Privacy Protections: We designed the Facial Age Estimation process to protect privacy. Images and video are deleted immediately after processing.

Today, we are sharing what we believe will become the gold standard for communication safety, and announcing our plans to require a facial age check for all users accessing chat features, making us the first online gaming or communication platform to do so.

Moving the Industry Forward

As the internet has matured, technological advancements in safety and security have steadily shifted the industry's approach to age assurance. While initial efforts relied on simple self-declared age to manage access to features, the industry has since progressed to behavioral based methods.

Today, Roblox is going further. We’re unlocking chat and age-appropriate experiences for our users by requiring them to complete an age check through Facial Age Estimation or ID verification¹. Once the age check is complete, users will only be allowed to chat with others in similar age groups, unless they become Trusted Connections with people they know. 

This initiative is designed to provide even more age-appropriate experiences for all users, which we believe will improve interactions for users of all ages on Roblox. 

Following our September announcement, we’re now rolling out age checks to access chat on Roblox. 

All users can now voluntarily go through the Facial Age Estimation process to secure their access to communication features. During the first week of December, we’ll begin enforcing the age check requirement in select markets including Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Those requirements will extend to the rest of the world wherever chat is available in early January.

We’re using privacy protective methods to conduct age checks. The Facial Age Estimation process is fast, secure, and completed through the Roblox app using the device’s camera. Images and video for age checks completed through Facial Age Estimation are processed by our vendor, Persona, and deleted immediately after processing. Age checks are completely optional; however, features like chat will not be accessible unless the age check is complete. 

“Roblox deploying this privacy preserving implementation of thoughtful age assurance for its uniquely mixed audience of youth and adults will strengthen protections for younger players while respecting user rights," said Jules Polonetsky, CEO, Future of Privacy Forum.

Parents will continue to have access to their child’s linked account and can modify their child's birthday through Parental Controls after they complete Facial Age Estimation. For more details on how to age check, visit our Help Center.

Assigning Users to Similar Age Groups with Age-Based Chat

Enforcing age checks allows us to implement age-based chat, which helps users better understand who they’re communicating with and limits chat between minors and adults. Facial Age Estimation technology makes this possible at scale. To keep our youngest users safe, chat in experiences will be turned to default off for users under nine years old, unless a parent provides consent after an age check. Chat outside of experiences remains restricted for users under 13.

As part of our ongoing consultations with child development experts, we've defined common-sense limits on who can chat together on Roblox. After users complete the age check process, we will inform them of their assigned age group: Under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20, or 21+. Users will be able to chat with those in their own age group and similar age groups, as appropriate.

For example: 

• Elisa (estimated age 12): Elisa has access to chat with users aged 15 or younger in Experience chat. All users 16 or older are prevented from initiating or engaging in chat with her.

• Marcus (estimated age 18): Marcus has access to chat with users aged 16 or older and could add a younger sibling as a Trusted Connection, as long as they are 13 or older. 

We recognize the importance of family members playing, learning, and communicating directly with their child on Roblox. Through Trusted Connections, age-checked users 13 or older can chat freely with people they know. We'll soon roll out dedicated solutions for direct chat between parents and children younger than 13 or between siblings in different age groups.

Early next year, we will also require age checks to access social media links on user profiles, communities and experience details pages. This will strengthen our current policy, which already limits access to self-declared 13 or older users. This supports our vision of keeping users on Roblox, where our approach to safe communication includes multiple layers of protection:

• All Chat is Monitored: We do not encrypt communication. We monitor voice and text messages for harms using sophisticated AI algorithms.

• Filtered Text Chat: Chat is filtered differently based on a user’s age and type of connection. All chat between users younger than 13 have strict filtering, which blocks inappropriate content and personal information.

• Strict Media Sharing Policy: We continue to prohibit image and video sharing in chat, eliminating common vectors for harm.

• Restricted Links: Early next year, we will prohibit creators from sharing or posting social media links in experiences. This strengthens our existing policy against sharing links through chat. This restriction will not impact commercial links delivered via official, paid advertising accessible to eligible users.

• User Tools: We provide on-platform tools to quickly block and report users that violate our Community Standards.

Parents and caregivers can use our Parental Controls to manage their child's access and interactions on the platform. For parents of teens, we offer tools for transparency, allowing them to easily view who their teen is connecting with.

Expanding Facial Age Estimation to Creator Collaboration Tools

This industry-leading age check requirement is a foundational step to unlock features for our creator community while upholding safety principles. Early next year, we’ll be enforcing this requirement for the Team Create Collaboration feature in Roblox Studio, requiring users to be of a similar age to collaborate in Studio together. 

The age-check requirement for collaboration and chat builds on our previous work, including over 145 recent safety innovations launched since January 2025.

"Proactive tools like age estimation are key to building a safer and more positive digital world for kids and teens. Roblox’s risk-based approach to features like voice chat sets a strong example of responsible innovation," said Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute.

These new requirements will help us provide positive, age-appropriate experiences for all users on Roblox. We invite others in the industry to join us and follow our comprehensive approach to help make the entire online world safer for children and teens. To learn more about our age check plans and our commitment to civility, explore our revamped Roblox Safety Center.