Highlights
- Roblox footage showed children handing phones to parents during facial age checks.
- The company now monitors account behaviour to detect age mismatches after verification.
- New Kids and Select account tiers restrict content and communication by age group.
The gaming company, which reports 144 million daily users, is now rolling out age-specific account types called Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, the most significant structural change to its platform in years.
A user's estimated age will determine which version of the service they access, what content they can view, and who they can communicate with.
The new Roblox Kids account, aimed at children under nine, features a simplified interface, no communication tools and access only to a curated selection of games.
Roblox Select, covering users aged nine to 15, permits limited chat and a broader but still restricted content library.
Users who do not complete any age check at all will be defaulted to children's settings and blocked from all communication on the platform.
Who fixes the error
Roblox does not publish figures on how often its facial estimation technology misclassifies users.
Kaufman said the system works within roughly 1.4 years for users under 18 and is more reliable than asking people to self-report.
He noted that children regularly enter false ages to unlock features. "Users are going to tell you whatever they want to tell you in order to get access," he told BBC .
Roblox stays outside Australia’s under-16 ban as compliance is monitoredGetty Images
The company says it monitors behaviour after verification and prompts repeat checks when an account's activity does not match its estimated age. Parents can also appeal, reset checks, or submit ID verification to correct errors.
Professor Sonia Livingstone of the London School of Economics welcomed the steps but said evidence of ongoing risks remained.
She called for independent confirmation that moderation works and raised concerns about whether age data could be used for commercial profiling.
The changes come as the UK's Online Safety Act child protection rules took effect in 2025.
Roblox remains outside Australia's under-16 social media ban, though regulators there continue to monitor compliance after finding children near the age threshold were still bypassing facial checks.
The platform is also facing legal action from several US state attorneys general over alleged child safety failures.
