Beloved online sandbox platform Roblox has been hit with repeated controversies in 2025 regarding the safety of children in its online spaces, and the company has announced a new facial age estimation program that aims to prevent minors from interacting with adults on the platform. Roblox features hit games like Dress to Impress, Steal a Brainrot, and Grow a Garden, along with hundreds of fan-made game modes, but the platform's popularity among younger players has been brought under scrutiny due to allegations of failure to protect users from potential grooming and abuse.
Several major lawsuits against Roblox have come from both parents and governing bodies, with the US states of Louisiana and Texas among the complainants that have resorted to litigation to try and pressure the gaming company to make massive changes to its safety procedures and protocols. Roblox has subsequently announced some changes to the way players have access to certain game content, but the latest update from the company has unveiled a new software that specifically targets player interactions on the platform.
Roblox Changes Adult Content Policies Over Child Safety Concerns
Roblox is making several changes to its adult content policy in response to recently raised concerns about child safety on the platform.
Facial Analysis for Age Verification Coming to Roblox
Roblox is rolling out a facial age estimation software that will require players to have an image or video of their face analyzed to estimate their age, after which they will be placed into a designated age group. Those that fall within the same age group will be permitted to communicate with one another, while players will be unable to receive messages or voice chats from those outside their designated age group. The groups will include under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 20+, meaning someone estimated to be 10 years old will not be able to communicate with someone over the age of 12. A previous announcement of age verification coming to Roblox focused on players not having access to certain games, and it would seem that same software is now being adjusted to apply broader safety restrictions to interactions between users.
The new age system follows changes made in September that removed unrated games on Roblox and required all games to have age ratings, with younger players blocked from anything with a mature rating. That update may explain the adjusted use of the facial analysis software, which immediately deletes and does not store any record of the utilized imaging, though many are hoping for sufficient overlap and further improvements to Roblox's safety features.
Despite efforts by the company to make adjustments, both parents and legislators have remained unhappy with the platform, prompting a massive petition against the Roblox CEO and ongoing lawsuits across multiple US states. It remains to be seen if the upcoming facial age estimation and age groupings on Roblox will be enough to curb the exposure of minors to dangerous predators, who many say have taken advantage of the platform and its young player base for far too long.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- September 1, 2006
- ESRB
- Teen / Diverse Content: Discretion Advised, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Roblox Corporation
- Publisher(s)
- Roblox Corporation
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Game Creation System
Source: The Guardian