Roblox announced Thursday it will launch new safeguards for people aged 13 to 18. The company has introduced “trusted connections” to allow these users to connect more freely with people they know, along with more privacy tools for teenage parents, and more privacy tools and insights.
Roblox has been firing in recent years about how to deal with child safety. In April, Florida Attorney General James Usmieyer issued a subpoena to Roblox in response to reports that children were exposed to harmful material on the platform and that predatory adults could send messages to minors on the app.
The changes announced Thursday could be part of Roblox's efforts to soothe both lawmakers and parents. The teen-centric update comes eight months after Roblox begins protecting users under the age of 13.
Image credit: Roblox
Roblox has changed the name of “friend” to “connect” and launched a “trusted connection” to allow teens to freely chat and voice communication with trusted people. A trusted connection allows users to chat without filters.
“The system-determined users will have 13+ access to more expressive chat capabilities,” said Ryan Ebanks, senior product manager at Roblox, during a briefing with reporters. “This additional freedom reduces the incentive for teens to move interactions from platforms that could be at greater risk.”
Roblox points out that conversations between trusted connections are actively monitored for serious harm (e.g. grooming). Additionally, parents can see who their teens are connecting as trustworthy connections.
To unlock a trusted connection, users will need to use the platform's new age estimation technology to shoot selfie videos to verify their age. You must receive an estimate of at least 13 years old to access a trusted connection. Roblox points out that if the system cannot verify an older age of confidence, then the age remains unconfirmed. If the user does not pass the age estimate, the age can be checked with ID verification.
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Image credit: Roblox
Users 13-17 who have confirmed their age can add each other as trustworthy connections. Unfiltered communication between 18 and older and teenage users will be blocked unless existing real-life relationships are verified via QR codes.
The company plans to use age estimation across the platform to support user access to age-appropriate features and content.
As for the new privacy tools, teens can now decide whether they can see who is online. They can set this up to be visible to their connections, their followers, no one, or everyone on Roblox. You can also set up a window where push notifications from Roblox are silent.
Image credit: Roblox
Roblox gives parents access to a set of tools to understand their use and presence on their children's platform. Parents can see who the teens relate to, how much time they spend on the platform, and what games they play, and how much games they play. Additionally, parents can choose to be notified when their teenagers make certain transactions with Roblox.
“We quickly designed these at a glance, knowing that our parents are very busy, so we hope they fit their busy schedule,” said Dina Lamdany, senior product manager at Roblox, in a briefing.