Roblox is rolling out face ID age checks to stop older players from chatting to kids, but will it actually work?

As various countries continue to crack down on online safety, Roblox has confirmed that it's rolling out a new age verification system for players who want to use the in-game chat feature. The system will use a facial recognition scan to estimate your age, and then match you with users who have been placed in a similar bracket. This, in theory, means that older players will be prohibited from talking in chat to those outside of their age brackets. In practice, however, we know that checks of this type can often be circumvented quite easily.

In an example given in Roblox's official press release, Elisa, a player estimated to be 12 years old, has access to the 'nine to 12′ and the '13 to 15' age brackets, but anyone who's 16 or over cannot interact with her. Marcus, who the system believes to be 18, can chat with users who are 16 or older, and could add a relative as a 'trusted connection' as long as they are 13 or older. If a child is under nine years old, the chat function will be unavailable entirely, unless their parent provides access consent following the age check.

We've seen a few iterations of these systems over the past few months, and the building game's version is relatively similar. Data will be collected by Persona (whose services have generally received mixed user reviews), and you can either allow access to your camera for the software to effectively scan your face, or, in some countries, you can submit a government ID to prove your age.

While it all sounds like smooth sailing on paper, earlier this year, we saw some Brits using Norman Reedus' mug from Death Stranding 2 to circumvent age verification checks, so the idea is only as good as the underlying tech.

Roblox's age verification systems will roll out over the next few months. From today, Tuesday November 19, players can opt into the Face Age Estimation system to ensure their access to the chat feature remains uninterrupted.

Then, from week commencing Monday December 1, checks will roll out in specific regions, including Australia, The Netherlands, and New Zealand. Afterwords, age verification checks will be mandatory from early January.

So if you're looking to keep yapping in all of the best Roblox games' chats, it's probably worth getting things sorted ahead of time.