Overview
- Facial age estimation is available voluntarily now, with mandatory checks starting in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands in early December before expanding worldwide in January.
- Users will be assigned to six age bands—under 9, 9–12, 13–15, 16–17, 18–20 and 21+—and chat will be limited to the same or adjacent groups.
- Roblox will block conversations between minors and unknown adults, with in-experience chat off by default for under‑9s unless a parent enables it and additional restrictions maintained for under‑13s.
- Verification runs through external provider Persona, which processes selfie images or short videos and deletes them after evaluation, with no persistent biometric profile stored, according to the company.
- Roblox positions the change as a response to sustained pressure from families, NGOs and investigators, and describes it as a potential new standard for large gaming and social platforms.