Is Roblox Safe For Kids?
Roblox has enjoyed unprecedented popularity among young children and teenagers in recent years, with more than 85 million active daily users. More than 50% of people who pay Roblox are under 16. With so many young players, many parents want to understand if the game is safe for kids. Child psychologists, teachers, and parents are noting the negative impacts on the behavior and mental health of children who play Roblox excessively
Because of this, many are questioning whether Roblox is safe for children. As children engage more frequently with the game and its content, the adults in their lives are also seeking guidance about the risks of this game and how they can protect their children against those risks.
On This Page:
The Appeal of Roblox to Young Audiences
Age Ranges Most at Risk While Playing Roblox
Roblox Potential Risks and Concerns
Roblox’s Safety Measures and Parental Controls
Expert Opinions on Roblox’s Safety
Practical Roblox Tips for Parents
Our Legal Analysis: Is Roblox Safe for Kids?
The Appeal of Roblox to Young Audiences
Released in 2006 by Roblox Corporation, Roblox features many desirable elements for young users: an endless supply of user-generated games, kid-friendly graphics and soundtracks, limited-time events, and more. Roblox allows children to explore their individuality, socialize with friends and family, and create and engage with customized content. However, the same things that make the game enjoyable can make it addicting to children and teens. Users can use their imagination to create Roblox games and share these games with thousands of others who use the platform. Roblox’s highly-effective collaborations with kid-centered brands, like KIDZ BOP, have produced music and features known to captivate young children and keep them on the platform longer.
Age Ranges Most at Risk While Playing Roblox
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gives Roblox a T for Teen rating, meaning there is content on the platform that is not suitable for young children. However, parents may choose to allow their children to be on the platform because it offers some kid-centered content, like Pet Simulator 99. Young children are at an increased risk of experiencing addiction, as well as being exploited by bad actors online. Older children and teens may show more independence while online; however, research shows they may be pressured to spend in-game currency and to be socially manipulated. Different age groups may require more parental oversight than others.
Ages 5 to 8 – High Parental Supervision Required
Children between five and eight years old are the most at risk of experiencing the dangers of Roblox. Kids in this age range do not have the brain development or experience to recognize if content is not kid-friendly.
Moreover, they are least likely to know when someone is trying to trick them, acting inappropriately, or threatening them. Because of this, parents should turn off the chat feature, put the parental controls on the maximum setting, and restrict the child’s access to games.
Ages 9 to 12 – Social Interaction & Stranger Danger Risks
Children in the 9 to 12 range may be more independent online compared to their younger counterparts, but Roblox still presents many risks to them. For example, they may fall victim to grooming tactics used by sexual predators. Bad actors may pose as friends, families, or crushes to try to manipulate the adolescent into spending money or doing something dangerous. Young adolescents may also unknowingly access explicit content, like games with violence or sexual themes.
Parents can help protect their adolescents by restricting their chat features so they can only talk to people on their friends list, which should also be monitored by the parents. Parents can also have age-appropriate discussions with the adolescent about what online safety is and why it is important.
Ages 13+ – Risk of Inappropriate Behavior & Scams
Teenagers who are 13 and older may be more engaged in the social aspects of Roblox and inclined to try to expand their online social network. Bad actors may target teenagers and try to get them to fall for schemes promising free Robux—the in-game currency—if users complete different actions. Roblox Corporation cautions that all of these “Free Robux” offers are scams, as Roblox does not offer free Robux.
Teenagers’ brains are hardwired to engage in dangerous behavior and succumb to peer pressure. As such, they do not have the internal safeguards to completely protect themselves against potential harms on Roblox. Parents can step in to fill this gap by teaching their children about acting responsibly while online, identifying when others are being inappropriate and unsafe, and reporting suspicious or “off” behavior.
Roblox Potential Risks and Concerns
While Roblox is perceived as a kid-only platform, the truth is there are many dangerous aspects to this popular title. For example, many parents are speaking out after their young children have been exposed to violent or sexual content or had money taken from them by bad actors on Roblox.
Exposure to Inappropriate Content
Even with parental controls turned on, children may be exposed to inappropriate content, including heavy violence and sexually explicit images. Watchdog groups report children seeing naked women and hearing racist and sexist language on the platform. In many of these instances, the parental controls were on, and the parents believed their children could only see kid-friendly content.
Because Roblox hosts user-generated content, it is challenging to truly know what a child will be exposed to when they play a game or experience on Roblox. Many parents have decided to restrict their children’s access to Roblox or take it away entirely out of an abundance of caution.
Interaction with Strangers and Online Predators
As of February 2025, Roblux had 85.3 million active daily users on its platform, and 32.5 million of those daily active users were 13 and under. Unfortunately, predators take advantage of this demographic and pose as young children or youthful adults in the hopes of grooming victims. In July 2024, Bloomberg reported that dozens of pedophiles had been arrested after abusing or kidnapping children they met on Roblox.
Roblox allows parents to restrict or turn off the chat function and filter out some known adult content. However, not all parents restrict chats and many believe Roblox is ill-equipped to moderate and flag the safety concerns in its chats. Parents should use their own judgment and make sure they screen what their children are seeing or being told online.
In-Game Purchases and Financial Risks
Roblox allows users to use Robux to purchase in-game content, like games, items, skins, and experiences. Robux cannot be converted back into real life currency after purchase. Children may not appreciate how much money they are spending in the game and how that impacts them or their parents in the real world.
Additionally, children may also fall victim to “free Robux” scams, where users trick children into believing they will receive an in-game reward for taking different actions. One mom in Washington reported that a Roblox scammer took advantage of her nine-year-old son with leukemia. The scammer stole everything of value in one of her Roblox accounts.
Parents may be tempted to allow their children to engage with these platforms freely. However, they are encouraged to put spending limits in place—and reinforce these—turn on parental controls, and heavily monitor what their children are doing on their Roblox accounts.
Roblox’s Safety Measures and Parental Controls
In response to lawsuits and regulatory pressure to ramp up safety measures, Roblox has updated many of its parental control features to help keep children from engaging with unsuitable content. For example, parents can create a linked account so they can see and manage their children’s activity and settings.
Enhanced Parental Controls
In November of 2024, Roblox released a major update to its parental control features. Parents can now regulate, monitor, and adjust the settings on their children’s accounts through a parent-controlled account rather than through the child’s account. Parents can set monthly spending limits to limit the amount of real currency children and teens are spending on Roblox currency. Additionally, parents can create a cap for how much time their children can access Roblox each day.
Restrictions on Communication for Under-13 Users
Roblox also restricts how and when users under 13 can chat with others, and parents can monitor whom their children can talk to and when. These features are in place to help protect children from predators, scammers, and cyberbullies. Even in approved, user-generated Roblox games, children may be exposed to swearing, explicit language, scams, and online predators. Parents can now link their account with their children’s so they can see their children’s Roblox friends and can add, remove, or block users.
Content Moderation Efforts
Roblox’s new settings automatically prevent users who are under 9 from seeing content above preset violence ratings; however, parents can raise the age limit or violence rating on their child’s account. That said, parents should take steps to check in with their children and familiarize themselves with the content their children are exposed to.
With over 80 million daily active users in 2024, Roblox Corporation has a lot of content to filter through, and many of its moderation efforts fall short. Children are being exposed to pedophiles and unsafe content on games, even in games that are rated as acceptable for children.
Expert Opinions on Roblox’s Safety
Experts differ on whether Roblox is “safe” overall. Some point to the educational titles on Roblox, which may benefit children, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, others note that there are many instances where Roblox’s parental controls were insufficient or useless in filtering out age-inappropriate content or keeping bad actors from interacting with children.
Positive Perspectives
Some experts believe Roblox can be educational, safe, and fun for young users. For example, one child psychologist notes that Roblox and other video games can be a positive place for children to develop friendships and socialize with others.
Roblox Corporation also features educational titles on its platform, such as Be Internet Awesome, Lua Learning, Mission: Mars, and Robot World. With active monitoring of children’s accounts, some parents believe they can spot and protect their children from the risks associated with Roblox.
Critical Views
Many experts, watchdogs, parents, and researchers believe the possible benefits of Roblox are overshadowed by the risks. An October 2024 report published by Hindenburg Research described Roblox as a “pedophile hellscape for kids,” citing many alarming instances of pornographic content and grooming tactics being lodged at children’s accounts. Despite Roblox increasing parental controls and content restrictions, children are still being exposed to scams, pedophiles, and explicit or questionable content. Strict parental monitoring and oversight are essential to increase the likelihood that children are only exposed to kid-friendly and parent-approved content.
Practical Roblox Tips for Parents
Our team of lawyers has put together a list of practical tips for parents to help keep their kids safe while playing Roblox. These include identifying and using parental controls, educating your child about the importance of online safety, and monitoring what your child sees and engages with on Roblox.
Steps parents can take to protect their children from unsafe content on Roblox include:
- Setting up parental controls and updating them frequently
- Educating children about online safety and inappropriate behaviors
- Monitoring children’s chats and engaging with them about their experiences
Setting Up Parental Controls
Parents are strongly encouraged to view and adjust the parental control settings on their account to help limit what their children can see. On the “Settings You Manage” section of your Roblox account, you can view and adjust the category of content your child can view. The categories range from minimal, which may be suitable for all age ranges, to restricted, which may have high amounts of adult themes and violence. Parents can also decide who can talk to their children and when.
We recommend that parents tailor these settings to fit the age, maturity level, and personality of their child. We also encourage parents to revisit these settings periodically and check in with their children about their Roblox experience and adjust the parental controls as needed.
Educate Your Children About Online Safety
Talking to your children about online safety is crucial, even when they are young. Use age-appropriate language and examples to help them understand what is inappropriate and what to do if they feel uncomfortable. Also, explain to them that they should not give out their name, address, or account numbers to anyone online, even if the person says they are a friend or family member. Encourage them to talk to you if someone asks for this information or if the child gives it out to someone.
Monitor Your Children’s Roblox Experience
Revisit the parental control settings as needed. It is also a good idea to monitor what your children do and see when they are playing Roblox. Past reports have shown that having parental controls in place is not enough to protect children from explicit and criminal activity online.
You can also establish a routine of checking in with your children about their Roblox experience and talk about what kinds of interactions they are having. Make sure they know they will not get in trouble for telling you a “bad” thing happened in the game.
Our Legal Analysis: Is Roblox Safe for Kids?
While Roblox may seem like a harmless, kid-friendly zone where children can interact with each other and have fun, many reports indicate that Roblox is dangerous for children. Dozens of predators have been caught on Roblox, and research shows that the game is highly addictive for young children and adolescents.
There is growing evidence that the Roblox Corporation has known about the risks of its platform but did nothing or did not act effectively to protect its vulnerable users. Many professionals recommend that parents not let their children play Roblox or that parents be very strict about what content their children can see and how long they play the game.
Is Your Child Addicted to Roblox?
In addition to the risks of children being exposed to inappropriate content, playing Roblox can also lead to addictive behaviors and negative consequences for children and teens. If your child is addicted to Roblox, you may be entitled to compensation from Roblox Corporation from filing a lawsuit.
Many parents are speaking out and holding Roblox Corporation and other video game manufacturers accountable for being irresponsible by creating highly addictive games. There are ongoing video game addiction lawsuits in state and federal courts across the United States. Parents can file a case on behalf of their children or join in an active lawsuit filed by other parents.
Contact a Roblox Lawyer Today
King Law understands how Roblox can harm children and will help you hold its manufacturer accountable. If your child has a Roblox addiction, you are not alone, and we can help you pursue legal action against those who are responsible for it. We do not charge clients any upfront legal fees, and we do not receive attorney’s fees unless we win your case for you and you receive a payout. Contact us today by dialing (585) 316-0536 or filling out an online contact form.