Roblox is changing how young users prove their age, choose trusted contacts, and communicate on the platform. The new system centers on AI age estimation through a video selfie, with access to some teen chat features depending on whether the check succeeds.
The update is meant to make Roblox safer for minors while still allowing older teens to communicate more openly with people they know. But the plan also raises hard questions about privacy, accuracy, parental involvement, and whether trust can be verified by a scan or a selfie.
How Roblox age verification works
Roblox’s previous friend system did not separate casual online contacts from people a player personally knows and trusts. The new structure introduces Connections and Trusted Connections, creating a higher-trust category for users who want access to additional communication features.
To use Trusted Connections, a user must first complete age verification. That process requires a video selfie, which Roblox says is checked against an AI-driven “diverse dataset” to estimate the user’s age.
If the system determines that a user appears to be under 13, that user automatically loses access to features Roblox does not consider age-appropriate. If the system cannot determine the user’s age with “high confidence,” the age stays unconfirmed and the user must use ID verification instead.
Roblox says biometric data is deleted after 30 days, except where required in the case of a warrant or subpoena. The company also says it will allow for parental consent in the future.
What Trusted Connections changes
Teen users who pass the age check can use Trusted Connections to add anyone ages 13 to 17. Adding someone 18 or older requires either an in-person QR code scan or a phone number.
The feature matters because it changes how chat works. With Trusted Connections, Roblox removes filters on party voice and text chats for users 13 and up. Those filters include inappropriate language and personally identifiable information.
Roblox says those chats remain covered by its community standards and moderation. The company’s reasoning is that teens may otherwise move conversations to spaces like Discord, where Roblox cannot monitor their activity.
A spokesperson told The Verge that monitoring includes “any predatory behavior aimed at manipulating or harming minors, the sexualization of minors, engaging in inappropriate sexual conversations with or requesting sexual content, and any involvement with child sexual abuse material.”
Roblox chief safety officer Matt Kaufman says the company wants Roblox to be “safe by default.” For teenagers who have not verified their age, communications remain filtered. Kaufman also says parents can turn off communications through parental controls if that is the right decision for their family.
The ID problem for younger teens
The verification system creates a practical issue for some 13-year-olds: they may not have government-issued IDs. WIRED raised that point with Kaufman.
“That is a problem,” Kaufman says. “In North America or maybe the United States in particular, that's not common. In other parts of the world, it is much more common to have photo ID.”
If a child cannot verify because they lack ID, Roblox says they can be verified through their parents. If parents cannot do that for any reason, the child will not be able to use Trusted Connections.
That means the new Roblox age verification system is not only a technical process. It also depends on family access, documentation, and the ability of parents or guardians to participate when the AI estimate or ID path does not work.
Why Roblox is under pressure
Roblox is one of the biggest video game platforms in the world, especially among kids. Kaufman said in a press briefing that roughly 98 million people from 180 countries use the platform, and that over 60 percent of users are over age 13.
The company has also faced serious safety concerns involving minors. According to a 2024 Bloomberg report, police have arrested at least two dozen people who used Roblox as a platform for grooming, abuse, or abduction.
Roblox has also been the subject of several lawsuits. Those include a class action lawsuit alleging the company harvests user data, including that of minors, and a federal lawsuit alleging a 13-year-old girl was exploited and sexually groomed via Roblox and Discord.
In the briefing, Kaufman called Roblox “one of the safest places online for people to come together and spend time with their friends and their family.” He also said the new updates are part of the company’s regular development process and have not been “influenced by any particular event” or feedback.
“It's not a reaction to something,” Kaufman said. “This is part of our long term plan to make Roblox as safe as it can possibly be.”
Critics say opt-in safety has limits
Kirra Pendergast, founder and CEO of Safe on Social, says the new measures still put too much responsibility on minors. She argues that opt-in tools can ask children to identify and manage risks in ways that do not match how grooming works.
Pendergast also warns that machine-learning age-estimation tools can incorrectly categorize users as older or younger. She questions the assumption that an in-person QR code scan automatically proves a safe relationship.
“Predators frequently use real-world grooming tactics,” says Pendergast. “A QR scan doesn’t verify a trusted relationship. A predator could build trust online, then manipulate the child into scanning a QR code offline, thus validating a ‘Trusted Connection’ in Roblox’s system. Real protection would require guardian co-verification of any connections, not child-initiated permissions.”
She also says Trusted Connections applies only to chat, leaving “large surface areas exposed, making it a brittle barrier at best.”
Kaufman does not present the QR code or age estimation as a complete answer. Asked how an in-person QR code protects minors from real-world grooming tactics, he said there is no “silver bullet.” He pointed instead to policies, community standards, automated monitoring, partnerships, and people behind the scenes working together.
Roblox is also positioning AI as part of its broader safety work. Kaufman says generative AI has changed the technology landscape, but not the principles. In his view, AI helps Roblox carry out safety and moderation at scale.
The central question is whether Roblox can give teens more open communication without shifting too much risk onto the users it is trying to protect. The answer will depend not just on AI age checks, but on how well parents, moderation systems, product rules, and real-world safeguards work together.