Roblox introduces facial recognition. Stop child-adult chats

Online security measures are intensifying. Roblox one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world, is the first in the world to require the age verification to be able to participate in the chat internal to the game. Children will therefore no longer be able to have online chats with adults.

Starting in December for Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and in January for the rest of the world, mandatory age checks will be introduced for all accounts using chat features. A system will be introduced that will use a facial scan to estimate the player’s age and match them with users of similar age groups. This means that older players will not be able to chat with anyone outside their age range.

Roblox has been repeatedly criticized for allowing young people to access inappropriate content and communicate with adults, and has been sued over child safety issues in several US states. In 2024, the platform averaged over 80 million daily players, of which approximately 40% were under the age of 13.

In the United States, Roblox is facing lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky and Louisiana over child safety concerns.