Roblox is to become the first major gaming platform where facial age verification will be mandatory to access any chat features. In 2024, the platform averaged over 80 million players a day, approximately 40% of whom are under 13 years of age. The news was announced by the company's chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman, who claimed in a press briefing that the technology is "pretty accurate" and can estimate the age of users between five and 25, apparently with an accuracy "within one to two years."
Roblox says it is establishing what it believes will become "a new industry standard", and one of the key elements is limiting communications between child and adult users. The feature is now live, though voluntary, with the requirement for either "Facial Age Estimation" or ID verification becoming mandatory worldwide from December 2025 to January 2026. Users who do not wish to use chat features do not have to complete an age check.
