As of January 31, 45% of daily active users on Roblox have completed the platform’s mandatory facial verification process, a move implemented just one month after the company began requiring age checks for chat access.
The Push for Platform Safety
The implementation of these age checks follows mounting legal pressure regarding child safety. Roblox has faced a wave of lawsuits from the attorneys general of Kentucky, Texas, and Louisiana. These legal actions were initiated in response to reports that Roblox was exposing young users to significant risks, including explicit content and grooming.
How the Verification Process Functions
To verify their age, users must open the Roblox app, grant camera access, and follow on-screen prompts for facial scanning. This data is handled by Persona, a third-party vendor that Roblox states deletes all images and videos once the process is complete.
Successfully verified users gain access to age-appropriate chat rooms. The platform categorizes users into six brackets: under 9, 9 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21 plus. Communication is restricted to one’s own age group and the levels immediately above and below. For instance, users aged 9-12 can interact with those in the under 9, 9-12, and 13-15 age groups.
Should the system misidentify a user’s age, they may appeal the decision via ID verification or through parental controls, which allow guardians to update the child’s age manually.
Demographics and Data Accuracy
During its Q4 2025 earnings release, Roblox revealed that verified data indicates a younger user base than previously suggested by self-reported figures. Of the 45% of users verified, 35% are under 13, 38% are between 13 and 17, and 27% are 18 or older.
Addressing Loopholes and Behavioral Analysis
Despite the new measures, concerns regarding system exploitation persist. Reports, such as those from Wired, have highlighted instances where verified accounts were listed for sale on third-party sites like eBay. Eliza Jacobs, Roblox’s senior director of product policy, stated that the company utilizes continuous background monitoring to detect such abuse.
These background systems analyze behavioral signals, including keystroke patterns—which differ between adults and children—and game activity. Even emoji usage is scrutinized; Jacobs noted that older users tend to use emojis as sentence punctuation, whereas younger users often embed them within the middle of sentences. If the system flags an account, additional verification steps are triggered.
Monetization and Strategic Growth
Beyond safety, Roblox CEO David Baszucki indicated that age-check data is fueling revenue growth. “We have been able to find a bigger growth opportunity in the 18-plus demographic than previously assumed,” Baszucki said. He noted that the 18-and-over cohort is growing at over 50% and monetizes at a rate 40% higher than younger groups. Consequently, Roblox is optimizing its platform to support genres popular with older players, such as shooters, RPGs, racing, and sports games.
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