Overview
- Roblox now requires age checks to use chat, asking users for a short video selfie analyzed by vendor Persona or, for those 13 and older, an optional government ID upload that assigns them to age-based chat bands.
- Early reports show frequent misclassifications in both directions and widely shared clips of simple workarounds, including avatar images, a Kurt Cobain photo and marker-drawn wrinkles that triggered an adult rating.
- WIRED found eBay listings selling age-verified minor accounts for a few dollars, and the marketplace said it removed the posts after the outlet flagged them.
- Developers report a steep drop in chat usage and have flooded Roblox’s forum with calls to reverse the change, with one citing a fall from roughly 85–90 percent of players using text chat to about 36 percent.
- Roblox says tens of millions have verified, asserts Persona deletes data after processing, acknowledges parents verifying on children’s behalf, and promises improvements along with periodic rechecks for suspected fraud.