After months of mounting pressure over child safety, Roblox is rolling out mandatory age verification for users who want to access chat features, worldwide.
The move follows a wave of lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny, and public criticism accusing the platform of failing to adequately protect younger users from risks like grooming and exposure to explicit content. Roblox tested the system in select markets late last year and is now expanding it globally.
How Roblox’s age verification works
To unlock chat and communication features, users must now complete an age check inside the Roblox app. The process involves:
- Granting camera access
- Following on-screen prompts for facial age estimation
- Having the verification processed by Persona, a third-party identity verification provider
Roblox says that images and videos captured during the process are deleted once verification is complete, both by Roblox and Persona.
For users aged 13 and up, there’s an alternative: ID-based age verification, which can be used instead of facial scanning.
Importantly, Roblox frames this as optional, but with a catch: You don’t need to verify your age to play Roblox, but you do need to verify to chat.
What happens if the system gets your age wrong?
Roblox acknowledges that facial estimation isn’t perfect. If a user’s age is misclassified, they can:
- Appeal the decision
- Re-verify using ID
- Use parental controls, allowing parents to manually confirm or update their child’s age
Roblox also says it continuously analyzes behavior signals and may prompt users to re-verify if activity suggests they’re significantly older or younger than expected.
Age-based chat: who can talk to whom?
Once verified, users are placed into one of six age groups:
- Under 9
- 9-12
- 13-15
- 16-17
- 18-20
- 21+
Chat is restricted to users within the same group or directly adjacent age groups. For example, a 9–12 user can chat with users under 9 or 13–15, but not older teens or adults.
For children under 9, chat is disabled by default and can only be enabled if a parent gives consent after completing an age check.
Why Roblox is doing this now
This update lands amid multiple high-profile lawsuits, including actions brought by the attorneys general of Texas and Louisiana, accusing Roblox of exposing minors to serious safety risks. At the heart of the criticism: Roblox’s long-standing reliance on self-reported birthdates. The company now admits that approach wasn’t enough.
“Leveraging multiple signals, Roblox is constantly evaluating user behavior to determine if someone is significantly older or younger than expected,” the company wrote in a blog post.
In short: Roblox is moving from trust-based age declaration to verification-based access, at least for its most sensitive feature.