“All users can now voluntarily complete age verification via facial recognition technology in order to secure access to the game’s online communication features,” the group said.
He specified that this authentication will become mandatory the first week of December in several countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand, before being imposed everywhere in the world at the beginning of January.
Users will be able to identify themselves via photos and videos taken directly from their device’s camera and processed by facial recognition software. They will also be able to confirm their age with an identity document.
They will then be divided into age groups ranging from under 9 years old to over 21 years old.
“They will only be able to chat with peers in their group or similar groups to ensure safer, age-appropriate interactions,” insists Roblox, “to limit exchanges between minors and adults.” Without verification, access to the game’s internal messaging system will be disabled.
An extremely popular online video game among children and adolescents, “Roblox” is visited by nearly 100 million players every day. According to Roblox Corporation, those under 13 represented nearly 40% of its users in 2024.
In recent years, the game has regularly been singled out for not sufficiently protecting young people, particularly from sexual predators. Accusations rejected by Roblox, which has however announced new features in recent months to strengthen parental controls and better label content created by users in the game.
This announcement also comes in a context of tightening around the verification of the age of Internet users around the world.
© 2025 AFP
