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Roblox

Roblox is an online game and app where you can create your own games or play games that other users have made. There’s the option to chat to other players, but you can change this to private or friends only.

7+

Official age rating

Kids use this to...

Play

Create

Learn

Connect

Our safety ratings

Overall safety rating:

Our overall rating for Roblox

Good

Roblox has a lot of useful features that can help parents and carers keep their kids safe while they're playing the game.

Accounts have different safety settings and parental controls automatically set up depending on the age they register with. The chat function is switched off for players under 12 and they can only play certain games that are suitable for their age group. Parents can manage the parental controls on the account with a personalised pin.

Roblox uses moderators and filters to help stop inappropriate content and personal information being shared on the platform.

Safety features

Roblox has clear guidance for parents via its Parent Portal and there are a number of features on the app that can help keep your child safer. Players have different safety settings and experiences based on their age. So it’s important your child signs up with their correct age.

Parents are also able to view their child's history, including who they've been chatting to and messaging, what games they've been playing and any in-app purchases. You can also limit the types of games a child can play by enabling 'Account Restrictions' and add a 'Parent PIN', which would be needed to make any changes to the account settings.

Privacy & location

Parents and carers can limit or disable who can chat with their child, both in-app or in-game, who can send them messages, and who can follow them into games or invite them to private servers.


Depending on the child's age, these settings might differ, so parents will need to go into the privacy settings in the app to see and adjust these. There are no location settings but parents and carers should remind their child not to tell others on the game where they are.

Reporting & blocking

It's very easy to report and block either other users or content on Roblox. Roblox Community Rules are also relatively easy to find within the app and on the website.

Content

All chat on Roblox is filtered to prevent inappropriate content and personal information being shared on the site.

We didn't come across any harmful content while using the app, however, there are reports online that even with chat filtering on, children can still come across inappropriate language or messages.

Some of the games on Roblox feature cartoon fighting with guns and swords that some children might find upsetting.

O2 Guru top tip

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On Roblox parental controls

Explore the parental controls together and adjust the chat privacy to limit or disable who can talk to your child.

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Top tips for staying safe

Sitting down with your child and exploring their favourite app or game is a great way for you to learn more about what they like to do online.

You can ask them why they like to use an app or play certain games, as well as who they’re talking to and what sorts of things they’re sharing.

You can also read our Net Aware reviews for tips on how to keep kids safe on popular apps, sites and games.

Always check the age ratings of games. You can usually find this on the official site or wherever you downloaded the app.

Most games should have a PEGI rating which represents the recommended minimum age a player should be based on the content and themes of the game. But PEGI ratings don't consider communication features, such as chat. You can find more info on the official PEGI site.

Remember that age ratings are a general guide and don’t cover everything. It's important to check the game out for yourself before letting your child play it. And you know your child better than anyone, so think about whether it’s suitable for them as an individual.

Help your child think about what they share online and who sees it. Compare it to what they would be happy to share offline.

Use examples that are easy for them to understand: “You shouldn't give your number to somebody you don't know on the street. Is somebody online you don't know any different?”

Listen to their answers. And be positive and encouraging.

Remind them that they shouldn’t share private things, such as:

  • personal information, like names, emails, phone numbers, location and school names
  • other people's personal information
  • links to join private group chats
  • photos of themselves
  • photos of their body, such as sexual photos or videos.

Explain that you understand the internet is a great place to play, create, learn and connect. But remind them they can talk to you if anything upsets or worries them.

Reassure them that you won’t overreact – you’re just looking out for them.

It’s important to remind your child that they can talk you, another adult they trust, like a teacher, or Childline about anything they see online.

Roblox has a Parents, Safety, and Moderation section on their website which you might want to explore.  

Their information on safety is particularly useful which includes advice on: 

Explore and discuss these features with your child and take time to set them up together.  

You can chat to other players on Roblox using in-game chat features, private messages and groups.  

Any players that are 12 or younger have their posts and chats automatically filtered for inappropriate content and to stop them sharing personal information. 

Players that are 13 and over can say more to other players, but inappropriate content and sharing personal information are still restricted for everyone, regardless of age.  

Roblox has information on how you can restrict or disable chat features on all accounts, setting them friends only or completely private.  

Explore these features with your child and decide what’s best for your family. 

More on Roblox

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Talking to your child

Having open, regular conversations with your child will help you to really understand and explore the online world together. Our tips and advice can help you start these conversations.

Talk about staying safe online

What children and parents are saying about Roblox

We've spoken to over 2,000 parents and kids to find out what they think.

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Kids

What do children and young people dislike about Roblox?

  • Receiving or seeing bullying messages in the chat
  • There are in-app purchases
  • Being contacted by people you don’t know

I don’t like the fact you can privately message people in-game.

Boy, 12

What do children and young people like about Roblox?

  • It’s fun to play a variety of games
  • It encourages you to be creative and develop your own game
  • You can play with and talk to your friends

I love the variety of games on this platform and how you can support developers, especially younger people who are just starting to learn about scripting and building games.

Girl, 16

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Parents

We asked parents about the following areas of Roblox:

Safety and support

Roblox seems to be fairly safe. It limits bad language and my son tells me people get barred from the game for misbehaving.

Mum of 8 and 11 year olds

Privacy settings

I have put account restrictions on my children's accounts. Some games cannot be played with it enabled but some not nice games can still be played.

Mum of 9 and 11 year olds

Signing up

It was quick and easy to do, I just had to fill in a few detail such as my date of birth, username, password.

Mum of 11 and 15 year olds

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