Why Roblox Is Introducing Mandatory Age Checks for Everyone – And Why Other Tech Platforms Need to Follow Suit
By Dr Elizabeth Milovidov, Head of Global Parental Advocacy, Roblox.
Parenting in the digital age can feel like navigating a moving target.
New platforms, new technologies, and new risks seem to appear overnight, often faster than parents can keep up.
I work in tech, yet I still find myself pausing as I watch my youngest effortlessly jump between social media and game streams, or see my eldest use AI tools to summarise information faster than I can read it.
That quiet sense of uncertainty?
Many parents feel it.
And I know I’m not alone.
What Parents Are Really Worried About Online
In conversations with parents around the world, the concerns are strikingly consistent.
Families want their children to create, learn, and connect online, but they also want reassurance that those experiences are safe and age-appropriate.
One of the biggest worries is deceptively simple: Who is my child actually talking to?
Parents want to know that their child is chatting with peers, not an adult pretending to be a teenager, or someone significantly older in a space designed for younger users.
Offline, this boundary is obvious. We wouldn’t expect a child learning a sport to compete against adults.
So why should the online world be any different?
Roblox’s Mandatory Age Checks: What’s Changing
That’s why Roblox has introduced a major global safety update: mandatory age checks for anyone who wants to use chat features on the platform.
Following an initial rollout in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands late last year, this change is now live globally.
Roblox is the first large online gaming platform to require facial age verification before enabling chat, a significant step toward safer, age-appropriate online interaction.
In simple terms:
- If a child or teen wants to use Roblox chat features, they must first complete an age check.
- Users are prompted in the Roblox app to verify their age.
- With permission, the device camera is used to complete a short, guided facial age check (including turning the face left and right).
- Once completed, all image and video data is securely processed and immediately deleted.
Users are then placed into an appropriate age group and can only communicate with people within their own or a similar age range.
Those who choose not to complete the process lose access to chat features.
It’s not a silver bullet, but it meaningfully reduces the guesswork about who children are connecting with online.
Why Age Verification Has Been So Hard Until Now
A common question I hear from parents is: Why now?
The reality is that age verification has long been one of the tech industry’s toughest challenges.
Historically, platforms relied on two flawed approaches:
- Government ID checks, which don’t work well for minors who may not have passports or driver’s licences, raise privacy concerns.
- Behaviour-based age estimation, which attempts to infer age from online behaviour. While useful, it often flags issues only after conversations have already begun.
Neither approach adequately protects children before interaction starts.
That’s why Roblox’s new age-check system is such a breakthrough.
After years of development and extensive testing, the technology is now accurate, scalable, and privacy-preserving enough to roll out globally.
It offers a safer, simpler way to support families, without storing sensitive personal data.
How This Fits Into Roblox’s Broader Safety Approach
Mandatory age checks don’t exist in isolation. They work alongside Roblox’s existing safety features, including:
- Robust chat filters
- Customisable parental controls
- The ability for parents to turn off communication entirely if their child isn’t ready
Together, these tools give parents a clearer foundation and more confidence to decide what’s right for their family and to have meaningful conversations about online safety.
Why Other Tech Platforms Need to Follow Suit
As we move into 2026, I remain committed to helping parents better understand the “unknowns” of digital life.
I’m also excited about Roblox’s newly launched Parent Council, made up of parents and carers from Australia and around the world, who will help guide and challenge us to ensure our safety updates truly work for families.
But none of this can happen in a vacuum.
While Roblox may be the first global platform to restrict chat access based on verified age, it should not be the last.
We believe this balanced, preventative approach, verifying age before interaction begins, should become the industry standard.
As these changes take effect worldwide, my hope is that other tech platforms follow suit.
Because children everywhere deserve online spaces where they can play, learn, and create, and where families can genuinely feel they’re safe.