What Families Need to Know About Roblox’s New Age-Based Protections

Over the past year, we’ve innovated with age checks to chat, new age-based accounts, and tools to help parents navigate Roblox and the digital world with their child. Today, as we begin rolling out Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts in Australia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, we want families and the broader Roblox community to understand how these changes will affect the access children will have at different ages. The global rollout of these accounts will begin in early June.

These new accounts bring age checks, content ratings, ongoing game reviews, and parental controls into an easy-to-understand framework for kids, teens, older users, and parents. Below, we’ll walk through how our standard settings work at different ages and how parents can adjust those settings if they like. As users grow, the Roblox experience adapts, giving them more freedom as they mature—while keeping parents behind the wheel so they are the ones navigating these decisions for their family.

“Menurut saya, peluncuran Roblox Kids dan Roblox Select di Indonesia merupakan langkah positif yang menunjukkan bahwa keamanan digital anak dalam bermain game menjadi prioritas di Roblox,” said Indonesia-based parent Annisa Prima, a member of Roblox’s Global Parent Council. “Dewan Orang Tua Roblox juga telah membahas pentingnya keterlibatan orang tua dalam aktivitas digital anak, dan hal tersebut diwujudkan melalui fitur pengawasan orang tua yang lengkap di Roblox. Fitur seperti pembatasan komunikasi, kurasi konten sesuai usia, pengaturan waktu bermain, pembatasan akses game, serta pengaturan daftar teman bermain anak dalam game dapat membantu menciptakan pengalaman bermain yang lebih aman bagi anak. Roblox Kids dan Roblox Select memudahkan orang tua mengatur pengalaman bermain anak sesuai usia dan kebutuhan mereka.”

Understanding Roblox Kids and Roblox Select

Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts are designed to provide children and teens with an age-appropriate experience on Roblox. That means 5- to 12-year-olds will not have the same access on Roblox as 13- to 15-year-olds or users older than 16. When we understand how old users are, we can tailor their accounts for the best experience and, most importantly, limit contact between children and adults they don’t already know.

Users can complete an age check in one of two ways:

1. Users with a valid government ID can use ID verification.

2. Or users can complete a quick, secure Facial Age Estimation process. The technology Roblox uses provides a fast, easy check via a user’s device camera. All images and video are deleted after processing to protect user privacy.

The technology we use for age estimation has been tested and certified by third-party labs, achieving accuracy (a Mean Absolute Error) of within 1.4 years for users younger than 18. It’s categorically more accurate than self-declared age, but as with most things in life, it’s not 100% perfect. So we’ve developed ways for users and parents to update their age if necessary:

• Users who have an estimated age of 18 or older can access a one-time reset in their Account Settings, which will prompt them to redo their age check.

• Parents with a linked account can correct their child’s age via Parental Controls once after their initial age check.

• Users with a valid government ID can also use ID verification to correct their age.

Behind the scenes, we continuously evaluate user behavior, using multiple signals to detect users who are significantly older or younger than their profile says. If we detect this type of mismatch, we’ll prompt the user to complete a new age check.

Once their age check is complete, users will automatically be placed into one of the following account types:

Roblox Kids: For users 5-12. All chat is disabled. A linked parent can allow in-game chat. Users can play games that passed our expanded selection process and have a Minimal or Mild rating. These accounts have a blue background to make them visually distinct at a glance.

Roblox Select: For users 13-15. Users can play games that passed our extended selection process and have a Minimal, Mild, or Moderate rating. Teens can chat with Trusted Friends, a special title for people that a child knows outside of Roblox, with verified parental consent.

Roblox: The full Roblox experience is for age-checked users 16 and older. They can play all games except those rated Restricted (18+), and chat is enabled.

If a user wants to access chat or games beyond their assigned catalog, they will be asked to complete an age check.

All games published to Roblox go through our moderation systems and are given a clear content maturity rating. For Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts, we’re adding additional reviews and vetting, including a continuous selection process that goes above and beyond our standard screening. That includes new requirements for developers who want their games to be available to users younger than 16. In addition, Roblox Kids and Roblox Select catalogs will not include any of the following: games with social hangout or free-form drawing features, games that feature sensitive issues, Roblox Moments (where users share clips of their gameplay), or in-game one-to-one chat.

Building on a Foundation of Safety

From the beginning, Roblox has had strict built-in protections. We have never supported the sharing of images or videos in chat. Chat on Roblox has never been encrypted, a deliberate choice so that we can monitor all chat for inappropriate language. As new innovations emerge and new global regulations are introduced, we continue to adapt and expand our safety systems.

If Parents Only Have Time to Do…

…one thing, they should set up a linked parent account.

This is the best way for parents to see and understand what their child is doing on Roblox. Once their accounts are linked, parents can see and talk with their child about which games they’re playing, how much time they’re spending, and who they’re friends with.

…two things, they should explore Parental Controls.

This is where parents can set screen-time and spend limits, block or allow specific friends or games, and change their chat settings. Here, they can also check or update their child’s birthdate to make sure they are in the appropriate account for their age.

…three things, they should play a game with their child!

Parents know best how mature, resilient, and prepared their child is for navigating online platforms. These play sessions are an excellent opportunity to understand how their child uses Roblox. Parents can talk about healthy online behavior and make sure they know how to report or block users who are acting inappropriately or breaking our Community Standards. We provide guides and resources to help parents navigate these conversations.

We’re excited to roll out Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts to help us provide age-appropriate access for kids and teens. We hope this information has been helpful in understanding more about our safety features. You can find the latest information on these in our Safety Center.