Parents can now moderate their child’s friend list and block specific experiences in Roblox
Roblox is introducing a series of new parental controls that will also be used to restrict who and what children are able to interact with on the UGC platform.
In a recent blog post outlining its latest initiatives, Roblox stated that three new tools will enable parents to block content, experiences, or individuals on their child’s friends list, while also allowing them to track which experiences have grabbed their child’s interest.
The company mentioned that it aims to provide adaptable tools for parents to suit their specific “comfort levels.”
“We understand that children develop at different rates and parents possess varying comfort levels regarding how much time their kids spend online, where they engage, and who they interact with. In creating parental controls, we prioritize transparency and user-friendliness to make it as straightforward as possible for parents to apply them,” the blog post states.
“It’s also crucial to highlight that, regardless of their use of these controls, we believe the safety of our youngest users is of utmost importance to the Roblox experience.”
The new feature set will empower parents to report anyone on their child’s friends list if they suspect that individual is breaching Roblox policies.
“Granular” controls for parents and caregivers
Regarding blocking content experiences, parents will have access to “granular” controls that can also be used to check or adjust the content maturity level associated with their child’s account—which ultimately influences which experiences they can access.
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“For instance, they might want their child to access Moderate content in general, but not a specific experience within the Moderate category,” the blog post continues. “Experience-level blocking enables parents to block any specific experiences that they prefer their child not to access.”
Screen time insights have also been enhanced so parents can see the 20 experiences that consumed the majority of their child’s time.
The new tools were launched shortly after Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki advised parents concerned about safety should simply avoid the platform.
Despite that rather forthright piece of advice, Roblox has been actively working to improve its child safety measures in response to perceived deficiencies in protections for younger gamers.
For example: last year, Bloomberg published a comprehensive report based on testimonies from 20 current and former Roblox employees who alleged that the company was failing to address predatory behavior.
In contrast, Roblox stated it has implemented over 40 safety updates in 2024 alone and will continue to enhance its tools, policies, and procedures to keep children safe.
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News Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with more than a decade of experience in the gaming industry. His byline has appeared in major print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered important industry events such as GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has served on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards multiple times and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.