Chatting on Roblox will soon require age estimation

Gaming platform Roblox will begin using age estimation technology for users who want to chat, according to a company announcement on Tuesday.

The measure, which is implemented in phases until January, is Roblox’s latest step towards improving security features for younger users. The platform has more than 151 million daily average users, a third of whom are under the age of 13.

Roblox says the new policy establishes the company as the first online gaming and communications platform to make chat accessible after facial age verification, calling the move “a new industry benchmark for security.”

Like many digital platforms, Roblox is under increasing pressure from child safety advocates and parents of alleged victims to better protect minors from child victimization, among other harms. Dolman Law Group has filed 30 complaints against the company for allegedly exposing minors to sexual exploitation and abuse. Other lawsuits including Roblox One has recently been filed by the Texas State Attorney GeneralMake similar claims.

Predators have identified minors on Roblox and formed relationships with them through chat and messaging, sometimes encouraging them to leave the platform for other communication apps like Discord.

Starting Tuesday, Roblox age estimation will be voluntary. It will become mandatory globally in January 2026. However, the platform will initially require it in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands from December.

Age estimation occurs on the Roblox app, but is completed by the Persona company. This technology uses video and still imagery to estimate the user’s age. Roblox says those images will be deleted immediately after processing, and will not be stored.

Roblox hopes this approach will protect user privacy. a fresh A Discord seller’s security breach It may have compromised the government IDs of about 70,000 users, raising new questions about how to verify age while protecting user data and personal information.

Roblox should also account for bad actors who try to use fake photos or photos of another person to avoid accurate age estimation. Kaufman said a combination of video and still imaging helps prevent this. Additionally, the company will also deploy fraud checks.

Roblox players will be divided into age categories, with limits on who can talk to each other.
Credit: Roblox

These two Roblox users could not chat with each other due to the age difference.
Credit: Roblox

Once a user’s age is estimated, Roblox will assign them to one of six age groups: under 9; 9 to 12 years of age; 13 to 15 years of age; 16 to 17 years of age; 18 to 20 years of age; And 21 and over. Users can then chat with members of their same age group or similar category. For example, while a 12-year-old can chat with a 9-year-old user, he or she will not be able to communicate with users in the 18 to 20-year-old group. If a user wants to appeal against his/her group, he/she can submit ID verification.

Roblox chief security officer Matt Kaufman said in a press briefing that the age estimation technology is “very accurate”. Third-party testing of Persona found that it has a Mean absolute error rate 1.37 years,

roblox Age estimation requirement started recently For users who want to take advantage of the new feature called “Trusted Connections”. The feature allows teens aged 13 to 17 to communicate via voice and chat without filters. Roblox continues to monitor all conversations for “serious harm” such as grooming.

“Proactive tools like age estimation are key to creating a safer and more positive digital world for children and teens,” Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said in a statement about Roblox’s age estimation efforts.

On Tuesday morning, non-profit advocacy group ParentsTogether Action planned to hold a virtual protest on stage at a custom-designed Roblox headquarters, where participants dressed as non-playable characters would hold signs. protesters will give a speech digital petition There have been over 12,000 signatures calling for more security features to be implemented on Roblox, such as defaulting all children under 18 to maximum privacy settings.

The petition urges the company to fundamentally change its approach to child safety, declaring: “Roblox must stop being a playground for predators.”