Is Roblox safe for kids? The 2026 age checks, account types and the settings parents should change

Roblox's safety rules changed more in the last year than in the previous five. Three changes matter to parents:

1. Age checks to chat. Roblox began requiring an age check to use chat in late 2025 and rolled it out worldwide in January 2026 (Roblox, January 2026). The check is a short facial age estimate run by a vendor, Persona. Roblox says the images and video are deleted immediately after processing. Users 13 and older can verify with ID instead. The age check itself is optional, but chat stays off without it.
2. Chat by age group. After the check, Roblox places each user in an age band (under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, and so on). By default users can chat only with their own band and the bands directly above and below. Roblox says this is designed to stop children under 16 talking with adults. Parental consent is required before a child under 9 can use chat at all.
3. Age-based accounts. From June 2026, Roblox Kids (ages 5 to 8) and Roblox Select (ages 9 to 15) are available globally (Roblox, May 2026).

Roblox also says the Kids and Select catalogs leave out games with social hangout or free-form drawing features, games about sensitive issues, its clip-sharing feature and one-to-one in-game chat.

Age estimation narrows who your child can talk to; it does not make Roblox a closed playground. Roblox publishes an average error of 1.4 years for under-18s, which means some users will land in the wrong band. And the protections only apply on Roblox. The pattern investigators describe again and again is a stranger who is friendly in a game, then asks to continue on Discord, Snapchat or another app where none of these limits exist.

Parents are right to stay alert. In 2025 the attorneys general of Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas and Florida sued Roblox, alleging it misled parents about safety and failed to protect children from predators. These are claims in lawsuits, not court findings, and several of the changes above came after them.

1. Create the account with the real birthday. The account type and defaults follow the age. A child who lies about age to get chat ends up with the fewest protections.
2. Link a parent account. From your own Roblox account, link to your child's in Parental Controls. Once linked, Roblox says you can see which games they play, how long they play and who their friends are, and you can correct their birthdate once after the age check.
3. Set a monthly spending limit. Robux purchases add up quickly. A limit, or no stored card at all, prevents surprise bills. Gift cards bought at a store are another way to cap spending.
4. Choose chat settings. For younger children, leave chat off or limited to friends you know. Review the friends list together.
5. Block or allow specific games if your child keeps ending up in experiences you are not comfortable with.
6. Set screen-time limits in Roblox, and use the device's own controls as a backstop. Our guide to parental controls covers iPhone, Android, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch.
7. Secure the account. Use a unique password and turn on two-step verification, because Roblox accounts with rare items are stolen and resold.

Roblox keeps its current instructions in its age check and safety pages; menus move, so follow those if a step above looks different on your screen.

• Free Robux. Any site, video or player promising free Robux wants your child's password or a download. There is no free Robux generator.
• Trades and "middlemen". Offers to trade limited items outside Roblox's own trading system are a common way accounts and items are stolen.
• Fake login pages. Links to "claim a prize" that open a page asking for the Roblox password. Teach your child to sign in only through the app.
• Moving off platform. Anyone who asks to chat somewhere else, asks for photos or offers Robux for something is a red flag to bring to you immediately.