Adoption Of Age Verification
A month after introducing mandatory facial verification for access to chats, Roblox said 45% of its daily active users had completed age checks as of January 31. The company said the rollout followed a series of lawsuits over child safety, including cases brought by the attorneys general of Texas, Kentucky, and Louisiana, which cited reports that the platform exposed young users to risks such as grooming and explicit content.
To complete the process, users must open the Roblox app, allow camera access, and follow on-screen instructions for facial verification. Roblox said the verification is handled by a third-party vendor, Persona, which deletes images and videos after the process is finished.
How Age-Based Chats Work
After completing an age check, users gain access to age-based chats that limit communication to people in similar age groups. Roblox divides users into six groups: under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21 plus. Users can chat with people in their own group and with those in the groups directly above and below their own. For example, users in the 9 to 12 group can chat with people under 9 and those aged 13 to 15, in addition to their own group.
If the system estimates a user’s age incorrectly, Roblox said users can appeal and verify their age through other methods, including ID verification or parental controls that allow parents to update a child’s age.
What The Data Shows
In its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release this week, Roblox said the age-checked data shows a younger user base than self-reported data, which the company said it expected. Of the 45% of users who have completed age checks, 35% are under 13, 38% are between 13 and 17, and 27% are over 18.
Concerns About Loopholes And Abuse
As the system rolled out, reports raised concerns about possible workarounds. Wired reported that eBay had listings for age-verified Roblox accounts for minors as young as nine years old. Although eBay removed the listings, questions remain about whether predators could access accounts by posing as minors and bypassing the system.
Roblox senior director of product policy Eliza Jacobs told TechCrunch on Friday that the company runs continuous age-check systems in the background to address these risks. She said the platform looks for signals that the age on an account does not match how it is being used, including the types of games played and who the user communicates with. She also said Roblox uses keystroke analysis, noting that adults and children tend to type differently, and that the company runs multiple systems to check accuracy and introduces additional checks if there is reason to doubt it.
Jacobs added that Roblox also looks at how users place emojis in sentences, saying older users tend to use them at the end of sentences as punctuation, while younger users often place them in the middle.
Revenue Implications And Product Focus
Roblox said the age-check system is not only aimed at safety. During the earnings call, chief executive and co-founder David Baszucki said the data collected will also be used to grow revenue. He said the company has identified a larger growth opportunity in the 18-plus demographic than previously expected, estimating that this group is growing at more than 50% and monetizes 40% higher than younger users.
Baszucki said Roblox is optimizing its platform to support genres that are popular with older users, including shooters, role-playing games, sports, and racing. The company said it will continue to adjust its safety measures in response to changing risks and user needs.
Featured image credits: Digital Mom Blog
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