Roblox is introducing camera-based age checks to restrict chat interactions between children and adults as part of a renewed focus on child safety. The company previously added parental controls and is now moving to stricter limits on who can communicate with minors. The new measures will be voluntary at first and then required globally by January, with forced checks starting in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in the first week of December.
When users opt in or once checks become mandatory, Roblox will prompt them to use their device camera for an age estimation. The process assigns users to age groups and restricts chats to people in similar brackets. Minors will only be permitted to chat with adults after obtaining parental consent. The example provided by Roblox indicates some overlap between adjacent teen age groups, which may allow limited cross-group interactions for older minors.
The age verification system is powered by Persona, the same provider handling age checks for Reddit in the UK, and it relies on Artificial Intelligence to estimate a user’s age from camera input. Reaction to the announcement has been mixed. Some players and parents worry it will hamper coordination in strategy and role-playing games that rely on cross-age communication, while others express privacy concerns but acknowledge the need for a safety mechanism. Roblox framed the change as a necessary step to better protect minors, balancing platform usability with child safety requirements.
