Roblox has announced plans to add two new account classifications to the game: Roblox Kids, for kids aged between five and eight, and Roblox Select, for kids aged nine to 15.
Roblox Kids will have all chat functionality disabled, and will only be able to access games with "minimal" or "mild" maturity ratings. It's almost mind-boggling that a game so popular with children has been allowing them unfiltered access to chat for over 20 years.
Roblox Select users will be allowed to access games with a "moderate" maturity rating, with restricted chat rooms gradually introduced to allow them to speak with people of a similar age.
"While no system is perfect, these age-adaptive accounts are designed to help remove guesswork for parents and help align users' experience with their age," Roblox's chief safety officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement.
The age of each user will be verified using facial recognition software, a controversial (and easily bypassed) technology that's becoming more common as more and more governments introduce online safety legislation.
Roblox is adding these features in response to pressure from governments and legislative bodies, which are concerned by the level of grooming allegedly present in Roblox.
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