Roblox: the parent’s guide
The most-played game in the world for kids. Here’s every setting that matters and every scam to prepare them for.
Roblox changed materially in January 2026: every user worldwide must now pass an age check, which reverses the long-standing advice that Roblox age gates meant little. The controls a parent should set live in the child's account under Settings then Parental Controls, and the settings that matter most are chat, who can contact the child, and spending. Robux scams remain the most common way accounts are lost.
The real Roblox risks
- Text chat from strangers in public games.
- Voice chat (“Spatial Voice”) — long the weak point, because the age gate was self-declared. That changed in January 2026; see the age-check section below.
- Inappropriate user-generated games (“condo games”) that slip past moderation.
- Robux scams — “free Robux” sites and Discord servers that steal accounts.
- Grooming through games that move kids to Discord DMs.
Age checks are now required to chat (January 2026)
This is the biggest change to Roblox safety in years, and it reverses the old advice that Roblox age gates mean little. Since January 2026, every user worldwide must pass an age check before they can use chat at all. It rolled out first in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands in December 2025.
- The check runs in the Roblox app using the device camera. Roblox’s vendor, Persona, processes the image and deletes it immediately afterwards. ID verification is available as an alternative.
- Roblox sorts accounts into Roblox Kids (ages 5–8), Roblox Select (9–15) and standard accounts (16+). Within Select, 9–12 and 13–15 get different defaults for voice chat and direct messages. Chat is then restricted to broadly similar ages.
- Independent testing by the UK’s Age Check Certification Scheme put the mean error at about 1.4 years for under-18s. It is good, not perfect, and there is an appeals route if your child is placed in the wrong band.
- The check is technically optional — but without it, chat simply does not work.
Roblox parental controls
In your kid’s account: Settings › Parental Controls. Then:
- Set age correctly — under-13 accounts get different defaults.
- Account PIN so settings can’t be changed.
- Allowed experiences: restrict to age-appropriate.
- Chat: friends only, or off.
- Trading & item gifting: off for under-13.
- Monthly spend limit.
- Voice chat: off for younger kids, friends-only for older.
Which account type your child is on
This is the setting that matters most, and it is not a toggle you switch — Roblox assigns it. Roblox Kids (ages 5–8) and Roblox Select (9–15) are account types for under-16s, and both are limited to games that have been through what Roblox calls a multistep safety suitability check. A Roblox Kids account sees content rated Minimal or Mild and has chat off by default, which a linked parent account can enable. Roblox Select adds Moderate content and introduces chat gradually. A standard Roblox account, 16 and up, sees everything except Restricted and has chat on by default. Ages vary by region.
Children are placed into one of those by an age check — ID verification or a facial age estimate in the app — so the practical question for a parent is not “did I find the right switch” but “which type is my child actually on, and is their real age what Roblox thinks it is”. On top of the type, you can allow or block individual games; Roblox is explicit that blocking works “regardless of its content maturity level”.
If you are looking for the old Account Restrictions toggle, it is no longer a Roblox control. The protection it gave has become the account type above.
What about the scams?
Every “free Robux” link is a scam. Teach your kid: Robux only from the Roblox app, never from a link in a Roblox message, TikTok comment, or Discord DM. If they fell for one, change the password, enable 2-step verification, and report to Roblox.
Parent dashboard
At your parent account’s Settings › Parent Dashboard, you can view recent activity and spending. Combine with Bark or Qustodio for deeper monitoring.
What was checked, and when. Account tiers and chat defaults by age verified against the vendor’s own documentation on 2026-09-08. Not reached in that pass: the PIN mechanics and age-check accuracy.
Common questions
How do I stop strangers messaging my child on Roblox?
In your child’s account, open Settings › Parental Controls and set chat to friends-only or off. Then add an Account PIN, otherwise the setting can simply be changed back.
What do the Roblox Kids and Roblox Select account types do?
They are Roblox’s account types for under-16s, and they carry the protection the old Account Restrictions toggle used to: both are limited to games that have passed a safety suitability check. Roblox Kids, for ages 5–8, allows content rated Minimal or Mild and has chat off by default until a linked parent account enables it. Roblox Select, 9–15, adds Moderate content and phases chat in. Roblox assigns the type from an age check rather than offering it as a switch, so the thing to confirm is which type your child is actually on.
Are “free Robux” offers ever real?
No. Every free-Robux link is a scam. Robux comes only from inside the Roblox app — never from a link in a Roblox message, a TikTok comment, or a Discord DM. This is worth teaching as a flat rule, because it needs no judgement to apply.
My child’s Roblox account was stolen after a scam. What now?
Change the password, enable 2-step verification, and report it to Roblox. Do those in that order — the password change is what ends the attacker’s access.
Can I limit how much my child spends on Roblox?
Yes. Set a monthly spend limit under Parental Controls, and check your parent account’s Settings › Parent Dashboard for recent activity and spending.
Is Roblox voice chat safe for my child?
Safer than it was, and worth understanding rather than trusting. Roblox now requires an age check before chat features work at all, and the result sorts the account into a type that governs who your child can talk to — off by default for the youngest, phased in for 9–15s. How accurate the estimate is for any individual child is not something Roblox publishes a figure for, so treat the age band as a useful default rather than a guarantee, and set the chat setting you want on top of it.
Roblox is asking my child to scan their face. Is that legitimate?
Yes. Since January 2026 Roblox requires an age check before chat works, done in the app with the device camera. Roblox’s vendor Persona processes the image and deletes it immediately; ID verification is an alternative. There is an appeals route if the estimate is wrong.
When parental controls change
App privacy settings change quietly, usually in the app's favour. Roughly monthly we send new guides, changes to controls like these, and scams worth knowing about.
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