EVERY TIME we visit a school we ask the students, “What do you do online?”. Without fail, we hear “I play Roblox”.
Roblox is an online game platform very popular with young users. It is available on smartphone, PC, tablets and gaming consoles. Roblox offers endless ways to play and interact with others in a vast virtual world filled with user-generated material.
ROBLOX IS NOT A GAME ITSELF
It is a platform that enables users to create their own games, referred to as ‘experiences’, with its online development tools. These ‘experiences’ can then be published for others to play. Some of the most popular ‘experiences’ include:
- Role-playing and simulation such as caring for pets, living and working in a virtual city, or just finding other players to chat with in a virtual world.
- Party whereby users play social games with others such as ‘tag’ and ‘hide and seek’.
- Obbies (obstacle courses) which test players’ parkour skills as they jump and climb through obstacles.
- Adventure which have users solving puzzles, exploring lands, navigating mazes or completing quests.
- First person shooter (FPS) and fighting with the aim to eliminate other players.
Young users of Roblox have reported that sometimes these can be scary or have violent themes. They often share insights that they regularly play with people they do not know. Like all online games today, there are features parents/guardians must be aware of, as well as some safety settings that can protect young Roblox players.
THE BEST WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE ONLINE
Stay informed about the platform.
Go through the settings before using any platform and change any default settings to safer options.
Keep the conversation open between you and your child.
A Parents Guide to Roblox
USER-GENERATED CONTENT AND RATINGS
The diverse selection of ‘experiences’ is a major factor in Roblox’s appeal. However, because these are user-generated, they aren’t officially classified or rated because they aren’t part of the original download. Roblox provides content maturity labels to help moderate age-appropriateness, but it is not foolproof, especially since the labels are determined by the creator of the ‘experience’, not by Roblox themselves. Users have the ability to report ‘experiences’ with inaccurate labels, however the vast amount of content makes thorough moderation difficult. ‘Experiences’, however labelled, may still contain pornography, horror or violence.
⚙️Check Your Settings
Go to settings > privacy and content maturity > content maturity and select a suitable content maturity level (we recommend selecting ‘minimal’ which is the safest of the options). Keep in mind that some age-inappropriate content may still slip through.
We also recommend familiarising yourself with the processes for reporting rule violations. If you or your child come across something inappropriate, you can report it and it will be assessed with action taken, such as removal from the platform.
💬Conversation Starters
- Why do you think we (parents or guardians) need to arrange these settings on your game?
- What games are you playing on Roblox?
- Have you ever felt scared or worried when playing Roblox – what can you do to make yourself feel safe?
- What would you do if you came across a game that made you feel uncomfortable?
- Can we sit and play some of your favourite games together?
- Who would you tell if something was going wrong, or you felt unsafe or unhappy during or after playing online games?
- How can YOU stay safe when you are playing?
MAKING ‘FRIENDS’
A core purpose of Roblox is for players to roam, interact and make friends with other users. This is done by exploring the online world and talking with other players within the chat feature. Similar to any online multiplayer game, there is little control over the types of people or age limits of those playing the game.
⚙️Check Your Settings
Go to settings > privacy and content maturity > communication and restrict communications with other players by selecting ‘no one’.
You can delete friends by clicking on the friend from the home screen or friends menu, opening their profile and selecting ‘unfriend’. You can also report and block users if they are harassing, bullying, or spamming your child.
💬Conversation Starters
- Why is it safest to only play with people we know?
- How can you tell if someone is real or a scam bot?
- How can you tell is somebody online is a Tricky Person?
- What do you do if/when an unknown user talks to you?
- Should you accept a Friend Request from somebody you don’t know in real life?
CHAT/DIRECT MESSAGING
All chat on Roblox is filtered to block inappropriate content and personal information from being shared. A player’s safety settings are determined by the birth year set on their account. Users aged 12 and under have stricter filters that automatically screen chats and posts for inappropriate language and personal details. Players aged 13 and older have more freedom in what they can say, but restrictions on inappropriate content and personal information still apply. These filters cover both public and private communication within Roblox. While these in-game chat filters do monitor and block inappropriate language from appearing, players sometimes use creative ways to bypass the filters such as using similar words, emojis and special characters, or encouraging users to converse in another app which does not have such filters.
Users aged 13+ with a verified phone number can also opt-in to voice chat with others during certain ‘experiences’, which we recommend switching off.
⚙️Check Your Settings
Go to settings > privacy and content maturity > communication and restrict communications with other players by selecting ‘no one’.
When initially setting up your child’s account, it is important to enter their correct year of birth to ensure appropriate filters apply. If the age on your child’s account is incorrect, it can be changed within the settings.
💬Conversation Starters
- Who do you chat to on Roblox?
- How can you tell that it’s really your friend you are chatting to?
- What information should you never share when chatting online?
- What would you do if somebody you didn’t know tried to chat with you online?
IN-APP PURCHASING AND ADVERTISING
Like so many popular online games, Roblox is free to play for the most part. However, a user can upgrade their character to allow special clothing, weapons and gear to be purchased via the in-game currency called ‘Robux’. This requires real money and children are very keen to use these to ‘look cool’ or gain advantage within some of the ‘experiences’.
The items are advertised in the game directly as well as on the Roblox website. Micro-transactions made via Robux can be more difficult to calculate for the user, as the monetary value doesn’t translate one-for-one after the exchange.
Roblox also offers a paid subscription service called Roblox Premium, which provides players with a monthly Robux stipend, exclusive discounts, and the ability to trade items.
⚙️Check Your Settings
These settings require a verified parent account to access (see below)
Go to settings > parental controls (scroll down to ‘settings you manage’) > spending restrictions > monthly spending limit and set the spend limit to $0.00. Additionally, you can enable spending notifications which will allow you to be notified via email if purchases are made within the Roblox account
TIP: If your child is gifted Robux or you want to allow some spending, you can turn this back off, purchase the Robux and then turn it back on. Your child will be able to access any current Robux but will not be able to purchase any more.
We also recommend entering your general device settings and turning off In-App Purchases for all apps. You can set up a PIN/facial recognition/fingerprint for authentication of in-app purchases across your device.
💬Conversation Starters
- What are the dangers of providing credit card details online?
- How do we decide the difference between needs and wants?
- Do you need to spend money in this game to still have fun?
PARENTAL CONTROLS
Parents/guardians have the option of signing up for an account with parent privileges to manage safety settings. With the exception of spending restrictions, the settings listed above can be changed on the child’s own account, however the benefit of parental controls is that it allows settings to be changed remotely and ensures that the restrictions stay in place even if a child tries to change them. It also makes it easier to manage multiple child accounts by accessing them all in one place. You will be required to verify your age by uploading a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, along with a live selfie to confirm your identity.
SHOULD I ALLOW MY CHILD TO PLAY ROBLOX?
Like any online game, there are degrees of concern in how young users may encounter strangers. The above measures do minimise the risk, however, to truly understand Roblox (or any online game your child shows interest in playing) and gain the best insight into the game play and potential dangers, you should play it first yourself. We also recommend you set up the account profile with your child, set boundaries within game play and utilise the Parental Controls for what they are designed for. Modelling to your child that managing our settings and using filtering systems on any online platform is a core lesson of digital citizenship, and who better than you to model this to them.
Our final tips for parents whose children are playing, or show interest in playing, Roblox:
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Use your (parent) email address when setting up the account settings.
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Make sure your child has an under 13 yrs account. On sign up, set your child’s real birth year. Under 13+ accounts will have pre-determined safety filters and restrictions set as default.
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Make sure your child does not use a real name to sign up, and has a long and secure password that they know not to share with anyone other than you.
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If your child has Social Networking Accounts make sure those accounts are not listed in the account info.
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Continue the conversation. Use the conversation starters above to help instil safe and positive online behaviours in your child. You can also find helpful resources on our website.
Updated January 2025
