Roblox will require all users to complete age verification to access chat starting in January

Following a series of lawsuits and investigations into its child safety systems, Roblox will implement mandatory facial verification for all users wanting to access communication features, starting in January. The platform also introduces age-based chat, meaning users can only communicate with others in a similar age group.

Starting Tuesday, users will be able to voluntarily verify their age to secure their access to communication features. During the first week of December, Roblox will begin enforcing the age verification requirement in select markets, including Australia, Netherlands, and New Zealand. Starting in January, all users worldwide will need to verify their age to access chat features.

The move comes amid several lawsuits, including from the attorneys general of Texas and Louisiana, against Roblox over child safety concerns. The lawsuits were filed following reports that Roblox was exposing young users to dangerous risks, such as grooming and explicit content.

For the age verification process, users will need to open their camera app and follow a series of on-screen instructions for facial verification. Once the age verification is processed, Roblox says it will delete any user images or videos. Verification is being processed by a third-party provider, Persona, who will also delete images and videos once the process is complete, Roblox explains.

Once age verification is complete, users will be informed which age group they have been assigned to. There are six age groups: under 9 years old, 9 to 12 years old, 13 to 15 years old, 16 to 17 years old, 18 to 20 years old and 21 years old and over.

Users will be able to chat with others in their own and similar age groups, where appropriate, Roblox explained in a briefing with reporters Monday.

For example, if a person has an estimated age of 12, they would be classified in the 9-12 age group. They will then be able to chat with users aged 15 and under. All users aged 16 or older will not be able to chat with this user.

“We view these changes as a way to ensure users can socialize with others in appropriate age groups, but also to limit contact between minors and adults they don’t know,” Raj Bhatia, Roblox vice president and head of user and discovery products, said during the briefing.

The company says the new age verification requirement will provide a more accurate way to verify users’ ages, compared to simply entering their birth year when creating an account.

“We believe this is the first time a company like Roblox in gaming, social media and messaging has required explicit age estimation before anyone has access to communication,” Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief security officer, said during the briefing.

Roblox also announced the launch of a new Safety Center that will provide parents and guardians with tips and tools, and allow them to set up parental controls.