- Roblox introduced age-based Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts
- New accounts seek to limit communication features for specific age groups
- They also include enhanced parental controls and other measures
Recent cases of new age verification and online age checks have sparked controversy in recent months, with concerns over privacy and potential data breaches – but a new development with Roblox is one that many people will likely support.
Roblox has announced the global rollout of its new age-based Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts, limiting some features for children. This also comes with improved parental controls, allowing parents to block or allow their child’s access to games.
Roblox Kids accounts (for ages 5-8) will have the platform’s strongest default protections, with chat disabled and access to a catalog of games that have been passed through Roblox’s “continuous selection process.”
For Roblox Select accounts (for ages 9-15), chat settings vary by age and region, with additional safeguards in place to protect users under 16. Additionally, Roblox emphasizes that these Kids and Select accounts will scale as users age, with the account type becoming standard at age 16.
These are careful steps Roblox has taken to ensure children’s safety when playing games or connecting with other users on the platform, specifically stating: “The rollout builds on Roblox’s broader efforts to create age-appropriate experiences for younger users.”
Notably, the decision to mandate age verification globally for access to communications features has been controversial, especially since the third-party vendor used for facial capture, Persona, was involved in a notable security incident earlier this year.
However, it can be argued that in this case the controversy differs from that of Discord or other platforms, because Roblox is actually a service that targets children for fun and engaging online gaming experiences – while Discord acts as a communication platform, mainly used by teenagers and adults.
As for Roblox’s user base, 46% of its users are 17 or older, with the majority of 56% being under 17, according to a study by Takeaway Reality. If that’s anything to go by, then the push for age controls on the platform is arguably justified.
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