Roblox tightens safety
- Roblox said it’s pushing age-based categories and chat controls to reassure parents about kids’ safety. - For ages 9–15, games can be labeled “minimal,” “mild,” or “moderate,” with text-only default chat options. - The company is shifting toward layered restrictions by age and communication type to convert parental anxiety into product settings. (thegamebusiness.com)
Roblox is splitting younger users into age-based accounts and tightening what they can play and who they can talk to by default. (ir.roblox.com) The company said on April 13 that it will roll out Roblox Kids for ages 5 to 8 and Roblox Select for ages 9 to 15 in early June 2026. Roblox said the new setup will align content access, communication settings, and parental controls with a user’s age. (ir.roblox.com) For Roblox Select accounts, games will be tagged “Minimal,” “Mild,” or “Moderate,” and access will be capped at Moderate by default. Roblox said Select users will get text chat by default, while voice chat and other communication features will depend on age checks and account settings. (about.roblox.com) For Roblox Kids accounts, access will be limited to Minimal or Mild games that pass a three-step suitability review, and communication will be turned off by default. Roblox said both account types will draw from a curated catalog of thousands of games rather than the full platform. (about.roblox.com) The change extends a broader Roblox shift from one-size-fits-all moderation to layered controls based on age, content, and communication type. Since January 2026, Roblox has required age checks before users can access communication features such as experience chat, voice chat, and party chat. (en.help.roblox.com) Roblox’s content labels are meant to tell families what a game may include before a child opens it. The company’s support pages say “Minimal” can still include occasional mild violence, light unrealistic blood, or mild fear, while parents can use controls to restrict access further. (en.help.roblox.com) The company has been under pressure over child safety for months as lawmakers, parents, and news outlets scrutinized contact between minors and adults on the platform. NBC News reported this week that Roblox’s 2024 parental controls already let linked parents block specific games or users, limit chat, and set screen-time and spending rules. (nbcnews.com) Roblox said parents will keep broad visibility and control tools, with the scope changing as children age. Its support pages say parents can correct a child’s age, approve experiences for younger users, and keep visibility into friends, screen time, and spending into the teen years. (en.help.roblox.com) The pitch is straightforward: fewer choices by default for children, more settings for parents, and age checks before broader chat opens up. Roblox will start that test in June, when the new account types begin replacing a looser setup that relied more heavily on parents changing settings themselves. (ir.roblox.com)
