Sweeping changes have been made to Roblox just hours after Sir Keir Starmer announced plans for a social media ban for under-16s. The Prime Minister is taking aim at tech firms who he says “had their chance” to make online platforms safer for children.

On Monday, June 15, the Government confirmed that it aims to introduce a ban on sites like Facebook and Instagram as well as apps like TikTok and Snapchat by next Spring. The move is also planned to affect gaming services, with an aim to block stranger communication with children online. In the wake of that announcement, Roblox rolled out its new Kids and Select accounts globally following a trial in select countries.

Beginning with a trial in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Indonesia last month, Roblox Kids and Roblox Select were made available worldwide on Tuesday, June 16.

What are the new Roblox Kids and Select accounts?

Kids Accounts, aimed at those aged between 5 and 8, offer the platform’s “strongest default protections”. Chat is turned off by default and only games with ‘minimal’ or ‘mild’ content maturity labels that have passed Roblox’s moderation process are available.

Select Accounts, aimed at those aged between 9 and 15, provide access to games rated up to ‘moderate’ that have passed the platform’s continual selection process.

Chat settings vary by age and region, while additional safeguards are in place for users under 16.

New parental controls and strict age checks

Furthermore, parental controls are also expanding. Features such as granular game blocking and direct chat management – as well as a new game approval feature – are aimed at giving parents the ability to grant access to specific games outside their child’s default account settings

The new Kids and Select accounts are designed to align game access, chat features, and parental controls with a user’s age, while giving parents more visibility and flexibility over their child’s experience on Roblox. Users are automatically placed into the applicable account experience based on Roblox’s age-check systems.

A Roblox spokesperson said: “All games published to Roblox go through our moderation systems and are given a clear content maturity rating.

“For Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts, games are evaluated with additional reviews beyond our standard screen, including developer verification, real-time evaluation, and content maturity rating and default exclusions.”

Matt Kaufman, Chief Safety Officer at Roblox, added: “Children’s needs change significantly as they grow, and online experiences should adapt alongside them.

“With Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, we’re creating age-based protections designed to support younger users at different stages, while giving parents tools to personalize the experience for their family.”

Once the rollout is completed, users who have not completed an age check will not be able to access standard Roblox accounts or use chat features.

Additionally, while social media links have never been allowed in chat on Roblox, the platform will no longer allow users younger than 16 to share or view them on user profiles, game detail pages, Community pages, or the Creator Hub later this month.