Roblox is one of the most popular online platforms for elementary school-aged kids. Now, after a wave of lawsuits and growing concerns about predators using in-game chat to contact children, the company is rolling out new safety changes.
Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO Rania Mankarios says parents should stop thinking of Roblox as “just a game.”
“It’s a social media platform and just think of it that way,” Mankarios said.
Mankarios says her organization has seen an increase in cases involving “extreme predatory behavior” on platforms like Roblox, where kids can chat with other users, share personal information, and be pressured to move conversations off the platform.
Roblox is now implementing age verification and placing users into age brackets that change how communication works.
Here’s what Mankarios says parents should know:
- Ages 5–8: grouped; users can’t chat unless a parent turns the feature on
- Ages 9–15: can chat, but it’s more limited
Mankarios says Roblox is also using AI to review games and experiences created by adult content creators, aimed at preventing inappropriate content from being available to younger players.
Mankarios says Roblox has added parent tools that allow a parent to create an account and link it to their child’s account. Once linked, parents can access a dashboard that may allow them to:
- See who their child is connected to and playing with
- Set time limits
- Block and report users
But she warns parents can’t see deleted messages.
“Once they’re just deleted, you have no idea it was sent, received, what was said,” she said.
Mankarios recommends parents regularly check:
- What apps their child uses to message people, especially Discord and other chat platforms connected to gaming
- Who their child is talking to and what information they’re being asked to share
- Whether anyone is trying to move the conversation to another app or platform
She also urges parents to have ongoing, age-appropriate conversations about digital safety, starting as young as 5-years-old.
Even families that don’t allow smartphones or think their child is “too young” can be affected, Mankarios says.
She says kids can find workarounds, like accessing apps through a smart TV, and may be more tech savvy than adults realize.
For parents who want the benefits of age verification but don’t want to repeatedly provide a child’s birthdate to multiple platforms, Mankarios recommends a free resource called Privo Protect.
She describes it as an age-verification “digital wallet” that can verify a child’s age across platforms without repeatedly entering personal information.