Roblox is preparing to block children from chatting with adult strangers, introducing mandatory facial age-estimation as new lawsuits accuse the platform of failing to protect young users.
The change is scheduled to begin rolling out next month in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, with a global rollout expected in early January. Roblox, which now sees more than 150 million people log in daily, says the system will prevent large age gaps from interacting in open text chat.
Under the new rules, players will be sorted into age groups such as under nine, nine to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21+. Users will only be allowed to communicate with people in their own bracket or a neighboring one. Roblox confirmed that the images used for age estimation will not be stored.
Roblox to roll out face age estimation worldwide in 2026
The update, first reported by The Guardian, arrives while Roblox is facing multiple legal challenges across the US. Recent filings claim the company failed to prevent adult offenders from impersonating children, gaining trust, and coercing minors into sharing personal information and explicit content.
Roblox told The Guardian it remains “deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user” and pointed to more than 100 safety initiatives implemented this year.
Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, said the company aims to give younger players more confidence in who they are speaking with and hopes the wider industry adopts similar standards.
The company also highlighted existing restrictions, including limited chat tools for younger accounts, automated filters to block personal information, and bans on user-to-user image sharing.
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This follows a months-long pattern of scrutiny. Dexerto previously covered multiple legal actions targeting Roblox, including Texas’ lawsuit claiming the company “exposed children to harm,” a criminal subpoena from Florida’s Attorney General, and a high-profile complaint filed by YouTuber Law By Mike over child-safety concerns.