Child protection: Roblox introduces age-based accounts for younger users

Roblox is announcing two age-based account types for younger users: “Roblox Kids” for 5- to 8-year-olds and “Roblox Select” for 9- to 15-year-olds. “This update will bring age-checks, account-level defaults, content ratings, ongoing moderation, and expanded parental controls together into a unified framework for younger users,” the company writes. The global rollout of these measures is planned for early June.

Children and adolescents will be automatically assigned to the two account types based on an age check or by confirmation from a parent. Both will access a curated, continuously updated, and evaluated catalog of selected content.

For “Roblox Kids,” access is limited to games with “Minimal” or “Mild” content ratings, and all communication with other users, including text and voice chat, is disabled by default but can be enabled by parents.

“Roblox Select,” on the other hand, allows content up to the “Moderate” rating, while communication remains generally possible for this age group but is still tiered based on age. Users who do not undergo age verification will be restricted to content for “Roblox Kids” and cannot use communication functions. After successful verification, assignment is automatic. Roblox notes that exact age limits, available games, and features may vary by region.

Roblox Games: Stricter Selection and Expanded Parental Controls

Roblox selects games for “Roblox Kids” and “Roblox Select” based on developer review, ongoing usage analysis, and content rating. Games with sensitive themes and social meeting points are excluded by default, among others. Additionally, Roblox plans to switch to the internationally established IARC rating system later in the year to classify content based on regional age ratings such as PEGI or ESRB and better reflect local standards.

Roblox is also expanding parental controls to give parents more steering options. New is the ability to specifically block or allow individual games for users up to 15 years old, even if they do not correspond to the account type in the latter case. Furthermore, the management of direct messages remains in parental hands up to this age.

More Age Checks Following Criticism of Child Protection

The changes are occurring against the backdrop of several US lawsuits accusing Roblox of failing to adequately protect children from grooming, sexual exploitation, and inappropriate content. The company has offered age verification since 2021 but only tightened age checks in early 2026. Access to chat functions has since been linked to verification via ID or facial scan.

According to Roblox Head of Safety Matt Kaufman, by April, half of the 144 million daily active users worldwide had undergone age verification. Since these are prone to errors or can be tricked, Roblox also introduced continuous age checks in February. User behavior is regularly analyzed to detect discrepancies between the stated and actual age. At the time, the company stated that 73 percent of daily active users are minors, with more than a third under 13 years old.

(olb)