Roblox will require all users to take age tests to access chat starting in January

After a series of lawsuits and investigations into its child safety systems, Roblox will implement mandatory facial verification for all users who want to access communication features, starting in January. The platform also offers an age-based chat feature, which means users can only communicate with others in the same age group.

Starting Tuesday, users can voluntarily verify their age to secure their access to communication features. In the first week of December, Roblox will begin implementing age verification requirements in select markets, including Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Starting in January, all users around the world will be required to verify their age to access chat features.

The move comes amid multiple lawsuits, including from attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana, against Roblox over child safety concerns. The lawsuits were filed after reports that Roblox was exposing young users to serious risks, such as grooming and explicit content.

For the age verification process, users will have 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 users’ photos or videos. The verification process is handled by a third-party vendor, Persona, which will also delete photos and videos after you complete the process, Roblox says.

Once age verification is complete, users will be informed of the age group they have been assigned to. There are six age groups: Under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20, and 21+.

Roblox explained during a press conference on Monday that users will be able to chat with others in their age group and similar age groups as appropriate.

For example, if someone is estimated to be 12 years old, they will be assigned to the 9 to 12 age group. They will then be able to chat with users who are 15 years old or younger. All users aged 16 or over will be blocked from chatting with this user.

“We see these changes as a way to help ensure users are able to socialize with others in the appropriate age groups, but also help limit contact between minors and adults they don’t know,” Raj Bhatia, Roblox’s vice president and head of user and product discovery, said during the press conference.

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

“We think this is a first for a company like Roblox in gaming, social media and messaging to require an explicit age estimate before someone can access a connection,” Matt Kaufman, chief safety officer at Roblox, said during the press conference.

Roblox also said it will launch a new Safety Center that will provide parents and caregivers with guidance and tools, and allow them to set up parental controls.