Roblox Mandates Face-Based Age Verification for Chat Feature

• Roblox users will now go through facial age checks from December 2025.
• Users will be placed into age brackets with restricted chat features.
• New Safety Center and unencrypted chat will enable stronger parental controls and active moderation.

Roblox rolls out a mandatory face age-estimation checking model for those who want to use its chatting feature. In a major shift in how the platform approaches safety and communication, users in Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand will be required to perform a face-based age verification, beginning in the first week of December 2025. Roblox said the model will be implemented globally by early January 2026 in all regions where the chat option is available, which does not include the Middle East.

The new approach serves as the foundation for Roblox's "age-based chat" feature. After authentication, users are assigned to one of six brackets: under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20, or above 21, and can only talk with people in their own or "similar" age categories.

How Roblox’s New Rules Change Chat for Younger Users

For children under the age of 9, chat inside experiences (user-created games) will be disabled by default until a parent allows it. For people under 13, chat outside experiences will still be restricted without authentication. Apart from that, there will also be a restriction on sharing photographs or videos in chat.

Roblox's verification method requires users to upload a selfie or short video via the app. Persona, a third-party service, processes the media, which is then erased shortly after examination, explains Roblox. If a user disagrees with the results, they can either use their official ID or, in certain instances, parental authorization to gain access to age-restricted features. The use of official ID will also prevent users from getting misclassified in case they look younger than their age.

Roblox is also introducing a Safety Center for parents, which will provide information, controls, and resources. The platform also states that chats will not be encrypted, allowing for text and voice monitoring using AI and human moderation. 

Calling the new regulation an "industry gold standard, " Roblox highlights that the update is a response to increased concerns about child safety in the wake of lawsuits in 2025 that claimed the platform encouraged predatory behavior.