Roblox to Block Chat and Specific Games for Kids Under 16 in Safety Pivot

Roblox is overhauling how younger players use its platform by introducing new age-restricted accounts and giving parents more power to monitor what their kids are doing. Starting in early June, the company will roll out two new account types known as Roblox Kids and Roblox Select.

The update is designed to automatically sort users under 16 into specific categories based on their age, which will then dictate what games they can play and who they can talk to.

Roblox Kids accounts are for children ages 5 to 8 and are the most restricted. Access is limited to a curated catalog of games with Minimal or Mild content ratings. By default, all chat features are turned off so kids in this age group cannot chat with others. The app will also feature a specific background colour to make it obvious that it is a restricted account.

Roblox Select accounts cover older kids from ages 9 to 15. These users will have access to a broader range of games, including those with Moderate ratings. While their default communication settings will not change, the app will still have a distinct visual look to identify the account type.

Roblox is also moving toward the International Age Rating Coalition framework for its content filtering. This means games will eventually carry more familiar ratings like ESRB or PEGI. To make it into the catalog for users under 16, developers now have to meet stricter criteria.

Creators must be ID verified and have an active Roblox Plus subscription. Additionally, Roblox will monitor how older players interact with new games before allowing younger kids to access them. By default, social hangouts and free form drawing games will be blocked for these younger accounts.

Parental controls are increasing as well. Parents can now block specific games they do not want their child playing and manage direct chat settings until the child turns 16. They can also manually approve access to a specific game that might otherwise be blocked by the child’s account type. The updated tools provide a transparent list of which friends a child is talking to and how much time they are spending in specific games.

Users will automatically graduate to the next account tier as they age, provided they have completed an age check. Those who have not verified their age will be restricted to the tightest settings until they do. Players aged 16 and older will not see any changes to their current experience.

Now, this isn’t happening by chance. Roblox has been under fire by regulators recently over child safety on the platform, over allegations the platform can be a playground for creepy child predators. Roblox on Xbox and PlayStation has chat restrictions based on the console’s parental settings, but Roblox on mobile and the web was the wild wild west at one point.