BTRoblox has announced that they will be implementing new changes aimed at ensuring that users, particularly those under 13, have a safer, less harmful online experience. The changes include additional restrictions for under 13-year-olds, alongside limiting access to unrated content and certain types of interactive experiences. Roblox reports that these changes will ‘enhance our safety measures to keep users of all ages safe on our platform.’
New parental controls are being implemented to ensure that parents can now access parental controls from their own devices and monitor their children’s screen time. The latest safety updates come after Roblox recently signed up to Ofcom’s ‘Best Practice Principles for Media Literacy by Design’ pledge, which aims to ensure that the platform improves their design to focus more on user safety and informed engagement.
New Limits for users Under 13
Roblox has revealed that users under the age of 13 will no longer be able to message others outside of games and experiences. Additionally, under 13s will be limited to public broadcast messages within games and experiences. The latest default settings will mean that those under 13 will not be able to directly message others.
From next year, all experiences on Roblox will also need to have a content maturity label, helping parents and young users make more informed decisions about the content they engage with. This means that creators will now be required to complete a questionnaire to assign an appropriate maturity level to each of their experiences, which Roblox will use to make recommendations ‘based on each player's age group and regional content policies.’ After 3 December 2024, any experiences that remain unrated will be automatically filtered out of search results and public listings for users under 13, although they may still be accessible through direct links.
Social Hangouts and Free-form User Creation Restricted
From the 18th of November 2024, Roblox will restrict access to two specific types of experiences: Social Hangouts and Free-form User Creation to help reduce the potential risk in spaces where communication and creativity are largely unsupervised.
Social Hangouts—spaces where users primarily gather to chat and socialise—will only be accessible to users over 13. Similarly, Free-form User Creation, which allows players to create custom 2D content visible to other users without prior moderation, will also have an age restriction. However, this policy will not apply to role-play experiences or creations involving 3D assets that have been pre-screened by Roblox moderators.
Parental Controls
A new way of managing parental controls is being included in Roblox’s safety updates. Parents will now be able to remotely manage their child’s accounts through their own Roblox account, rather than using their child.
As part of new parental controls, parents will be able to monitor how much time their children spend on Roblox, alongside their child’s friends list. Parents will now also be able to set daily screen-time limits that restrict their child from accessing Roblox on days they reach their cap.
Parents will now also be able to limit what content their children can access on Roblox, with users under the age of nine needing parental consent to access ‘moderate’ content. Parents will also have the option to decide what content levels are appropriate for their child.
Regarding the latest safety features, Laura Higgins, Senior Director of Community Safety and Civility at Roblox, stated:
"We are delighted to announce these new features, which we hope will help parents and caregivers tailor the experience that’s right for their families on Roblox. We are grateful to SWGfL for their excellent efforts providing online safety and digital literacy education, and for their help raising awareness of the latest updates to our safety tools and parental controls."
Roblox Teen Council
Additionally, Roblox has announced that it will be introducing a Teen Council from March 2025, which will enable up to 15 teenagers to have a say in promoting online safety and civility across Roblox. The Council will work with Roblox teams to provide advice on platform features and policies, whilst also encouraging the young people to gain skills in communication and community building.
Online Safety in Gaming
Gaming communities are continuing to become an important part of young people’s lives. Whilst many gaming communities engage in positive and supportive behaviour, others can engage in harmful behaviour, and it is essential that young people, guardians and teachers are given the guidance they need to stay protected from harm online.
To find out more about how young people can stay safe within their online gaming community, you can visit SWGfL’s Online Safety and Gaming Hub. This resource offers essential guidance, benefits, and considerations to help adults support young gamers.
Learn more about Online Safety and Gaming
Additionally, SWGfL provides a Roblox Checklist (developed in partnership with Roblox) to help users manage privacy and security settings for a safer experience whilst gaming.
If you’re concerned about harmful content seen in gaming, Report Harmful Content offers advice on community guidelines and how to report issues across platforms like Xbox Live, Twitch, Minecraft, and Roblox.
