Roblox to Require Facial Age Checks for Chat Access in Major Online Safety Push

As regulators around the globe introduce new laws to ensure the safety of teens in the online space, many companies, including OpenAI, Meta, and others, have recently implemented different age verification methods. Now, Roblox is rolling out one of its biggest age verification checks, which requires a facial age check before users can access chat.

Roblox has begun with a voluntary age check period starting on November 18, 2025. In early December, the facial age verification requirement will go live in select countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, a wider, global rollout is planned for early January wherever chat features are available.

As Roblox notes in its announcement, the age check verification uses Facial Age Estimation or ID verification. Roblox says the images and videos processed for verification are deleted immediately. Once a user is verified, they will be placed into specific age groups, eventually helping to determine who they can chat with.

For instance, younger users will only be able to chat with users of similar age groups. While older teens and adults will have access to wider age groups, excluding minors. The company further mentions that the new system will reduce contact between minors and adults while still keeping family communication intact through the Trusted Connections feature.

The latest safety update also introduces stringent chat controls. For example, children under nine will have chat turned off by default unless a parent provides consent. Meanwhile, those under thirteen will continue to face higher content filtering. Moreover, Roblox is also extending age checks to areas like social media links and creator collaboration tools early next year.