Roblox announced that it’s increasing its age verification checks for users who want to message other players. The company also announced new age-based chats so children, teens and adults can only message people in their age group.
The online safety changes come as parents have criticized how online platforms designed for kids are not doing enough to protect children online. Several countries have also implemented laws requiring games and other applications, like social media, to check the ages of their users.
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What is Roblox’s new verification tool?
Roblox announced its age estimation tool in July. The software was developed by a company called Persona and it requires users to take a video selfie that will be used to estimate their age. The company said the videos are deleted after the software confirms an age. Players are only required to submit a video if they intend to use the game’s chat feature with other players.
After the application estimates a user’s age, it places them into age groups ranging from under 9 to over 21. Players can then chat with their age group or similar age groups.
Children under 13 are not allowed to chat with other users outside of matches in Roblox unless parents give permission, according to the company. Roblox states that it does not encrypt chats, a measure it takes to allow for message monitoring.
CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, Stephen Balkam, said these tools show the company is innovating responsibly.
“Proactive tools like age estimation are key to building a safer and more positive digital world for kids and teens. Roblox’s risk-based approach to features like voice chat sets a strong example of responsible innovation,” he said.
When is Roblox implementing the change?
The company stated the new age estimation feature will begin rolling out to users in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands in the first week of December. The rest of the world will see the feature in early January.
Roblox is just one tech company introducing new age verification systems to comply with regulations.
TikTok, for example, said it’s exploring the European Commission’s planned age-verification system to see if it would be an effective tool for the app. They have already implemented teen accounts that limit what content users can see and block some features, like direct messaging.
Google also started testing an age-verification system for YouTube. The system uses artificial intelligence to differentiate between adults and minors.
