Roblox is tightening control over who can talk and share content on its platform by linking access to its communication and social features with facial and ID-based age checks.

The rollout begins this week as an optional process and will become compulsory in December in countries including Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, reaching the United States and other regions by early 2026.

The company says these steps are meant to make its vast online world safer for younger audiences, restricting how players of different ages can interact inside user-created “Experiences.”

To take part in chat features, users must now verify their age either by scanning a government-issued ID or recording a short facial video through Persona, an outside verification company.

Conversations are limited to others in the same or adjacent age groups unless users connect through “Trusted Connections,” which verifies they have a real-world relationship.

Roblox says the goal is to limit unsafe interactions and hopes the model will become “a new industry standard.”

While promoted as a safety improvement, this model also signals a move toward identity-linked participation in online spaces.

Digital ID verification effectively removes the anonymity that has long been part of internet culture.

More: Texas Sues Roblox Over Child Safety Failures, Joining Multi-State Push for Digital ID

It ties access to personal credentials, leaving fewer opportunities for users to interact without surrendering identifiable data.

The same technologies now appearing on entertainment platforms are increasingly being discussed by US policymakers as potential requirements for accessing social media, adult content, or even general-purpose platforms.

Several US states have already passed or proposed laws mandating age verification or digital ID checks for online activity, a trend that privacy advocates warn could erode personal freedom and create databases of sensitive personal information.

According to Roblox, “information uploaded to Persona is retained for a period of 30 days” before deletion.

Persona’s privacy policy indicates that it may collect extensive information, including device identifiers, geolocation data, and records from brokers and public sources.

This wide net of data collection extends well beyond what is required to confirm age, deepening concerns about how biometric and ID data could be reused or shared.

The company has not specified exact rollout dates for all markets but expects global enforcement to be completed within a year.

This makes Roblox the first major online platform to require facial age checks for chat participation.

The move comes as Roblox faces ongoing lawsuits and public pressure related to reports of grooming and child exploitation on the platform.

On the same day the company revealed its latest update, advocacy groups UltraViolet and ParentsTogether Action hosted an online protest, submitting a petition signed by 10,000 parents and grandparents calling for stronger child safety rules.

Roblox also introduced a new Safety Center, described as “a dedicated resource for parents and caregivers that provides clear guidance and tools to help them make informed decisions, set up Parental Controls, and support their child’s online experience.”

Still, the underlying trade-off remains significant. Roblox’s “Facial Media Capture Privacy Notice” confirms that it may conduct “other facial media processing” for “safety, assurance, or feature-specific purposes,” though the company says “Roblox does not use such facial media to identify you personally.”

Yet by normalizing ID scans and biometric checks, the company moves closer to a model of online life where anonymity is the exception rather than the rule, a change that could permanently alter how people experience privacy in digital environments.