Parents' Ultimate Guide: How to Set Parent Controls on Roblox

Roblox is a massive online platform where users—kids and adults alike—play, create, and share millions of mini-games. This virtual playground is where players use Lego-style characters to role-play adopting pets, solving mysteries, going to school, and much more. With over 90 million daily players—including around 40 million under age 13—Roblox has become a big part of kids' lives online. With such an expansive digital world to play in, it's important to set up age-appropriate parental controls. However, even with strictly enforced guardrails, it's difficult to fully protect against the most harmful material, given all the user-generated content. Check out our full review of Roblox for more information on how kids use the platform.

• Content: Extreme violence, inappropriate language, and sexually explicit content is possible (and quite likely) within the user-created games. This advanced content can be limited with the content maturity controls in settings, but much of the adult content that is labeled 5+ may still contain inappropriate content. Consider using the strictest content settings you can.
• Age verification mistakes: Roblox uses AI-based age estimation and verification systems for some users. Users over age 13 may be asked to submit a live selfie or upload a government ID to access certain communication features. Roblox uses this information to estimate or verify a user’s age and place accounts into age-based categories. Under Roblox’s newer system, users age 5 to 8 may be placed into “Roblox Kids” accounts, while users age 9 to 15 may be placed into “Roblox Select” accounts. However, the system can make mistakes. Incorrect age estimates may loosen built-in protections, such as chat restrictions or access limits, while some adults may be incorrectly categorized as younger users and face additional restrictions.
• Communication (called "chat"): Chat is no longer universally open; it is restricted by age verification, account type, and parental controls. Communication features for younger users are disabled or heavily restricted by default, while older users may only communicate with approved or age-appropriate groups. Parents should review communication settings carefully and consider limiting chat access to trusted connections only.
  • Communication tools such as chat and voice chat are now tied to verified age groups and parental permissions. While these systems reduce some risks, mistakes can still happen, and some users may attempt to bypass age restrictions.

  • Images used for age verification may be processed by third-party providers, but Roblox does not publicly guarantee a fixed retention period for the images of children. 

    Note: Even when the main chat feature is disabled, kids can still communicate with adults through in-game chats or by writing on "signs" that can be shown to other users in the mini-games.

• Private servers: Kids can be invited to private servers where anyone can have private 1-to-1 conversations with them. Users under the age of 13 can only be added to private servers by Friends. Parents can control who can join these servers and select "Friends only" or "No one."
  • Cyberbullying can happen in any chat setting. Roblox does use AI and human moderation to screen for behavior that violates community standards.
• Screen time: With so many games to choose from, it's easy to lose track of time while playing Roblox. Consider setting time limits to help kids manage. Tracking their top played games and game play time is available with linked accounts.
• Scams, coercion, and overspending: Risks involving scams, manipulation, inappropriate requests, and excessive spending still exist—especially when communication settings are open and spending limits are not monitored. Parents should regularly review spending restrictions, friend lists, and account activity.
• Marketing and gamified consumption: Key elements of the games include ads, official product placements, and the need for Robux, the platform's digital currency, to access gated extras. Marketing can be limited, though not completely resolved, by turning off targeted ads. Targeted ads do not appear for users under the age of 13.

Two ways in:

1. Log in to your kid's account and navigate to settings by selecting the gear icon in the top right corner.

• If the gear icon is not visible on your device, select the "more" icon.
• Select Parental Controls, Privacy, or Content Restrictions to review the child’s communication, content, spending, and screen-time settings.
   

2. Roblox replaced the old Parent PIN system with linked parent accounts and parent privileges. To begin: On your child’s account, go to Settings → Parental Controls. Select Add Parent. Enter your email address. Follow the email instructions to create or connect your parent account.

• Parents are asked to verify themselves using a government-issued ID or credit card before privileges are enabled. Once linked, parents can manage content restrictions, monitor screen time, manage spending limits, review connections and friends, and control communication settings.
• From your kid's account, go to Settings, then select Account info, then Add parent.
• You will need to submit your email address, and then check your email inbox and verify your email address.
• Still within the child's account, you can navigate to Settings and then Parental Controls. There, you can set a Parent PIN number so kids can’t change their own settings.
• Roblox also recommends enabling two-factor authentication for additional account security.

An example of a Roblox "experience" that is labeled 5+.

• You can view your child's top 20 games played over the last week by selecting Settings → Parental Controls → Screen Time → Manage → Top Experiences.
• You can block your child from playing specific games/experiences within Roblox by going to Settings → Parental Controls → Content Restrictions → Blocked Experiences and searching for the experience you want to block.

Communication:

• Chats on Roblox can happen in several ways, including experience chat (chat inside a game), limited direct messaging features in some experiences, and group or party chat with approved friends or connections. Communication is no longer controlled only by simple “everyone” or “no one” settings. Instead, access depends on factors such as age verification, account type, parental controls, and trusted connections.
• You can adjust who can chat with your kids, who they can message, and who can invite them to play games. However, even the strictest setting ("no one") still allows in-game chats if the chat is coded into the game.
  • Experience chat controls who your child can communicate with inside supported experiences. Roblox now uses age-based and parental-control settings rather than simple “everyone” or “no one” options. Parents who want to limit interactions with strangers should use the strictest communication settings available.
  • Experience direct chat refers to private or one-to-one direct message features within some games. Availability depends on factors such as age, parental controls, account protections, and the communication tools supported by the game. Some games may still include whisper-style or developer-created private messaging systems.
  • Party chat is the option that allows your kid to group up with the people in their friends list and chat within a shared experience. Keep in mind that if the settings allow your child to talk to their "friends" within party chat, you should ensure anyone your child adds is truly their friend and not an unfamiliar person.
    • To reiterate: These communication settings do not apply to chat features developed independently by developers inside the games. Take a look at the experiences your kids are playing to ensure there are no separate chats available. Developers who do this are violating Roblox policies. 
  • Chatting on "signs" is another way that kids can get around parental controls that disable chats. Any user can write text on "signs" that their avatar can hold up to communicate a message to everyone who is playing the same game as them, regardless of age.

Note: In order to chat, kids need to complete an age check. When they do, they can only talk to people of similar ages or people they know. Even if you've set content maturity filters, they can still be exposed to inappropriate or dangerous content through chats, unless chat settings are set to "no one," or if you regularly review their "friends" lists. Roblox uses automated moderation systems to limit the sharing of personal information and inappropriate content.

The Roblox chat is frequently overwhelming and disorganized, but does allow users to connect with each other—and even arrange opportunities to meet up in real life—as in this "experience" chat in a "high school" mini-game labeled by developers as appropriate for kids 5+.

Voice chat:

• You can see whether your microphone is enabled.
• Voice chat may not be available as an option if the account is not yet verified.
• For young kids, we recommend disabling voice chat to limit communication with unfamiliar people—particularly because kids can be exposed to a stream of vulgar audio from other kids and adults, which can play in the background as kids navigate mini-games.
• Parents should also be aware that some experiences may encourage players to communicate verbally outside Roblox using third-party apps such as Discord or mobile messaging platforms.

Privacy:

• Visibility:
  • Visibility refers to who can see your kid's current experience and join them.
  • You can select "friends," or "no one" if you're unsure about who your kid may be friends with on Roblox.
• Private servers:
  • A private server is a Roblox experience with limits on who can join.
  • To limit who can join your child's private servers, and whose servers they can join, choose either "Friends" or "Off."
  • Parents should regularly review their child’s friend list and visibility settings, especially if you're unsure who your child has added on Roblox.
• Friends and contacts:
  • You may want to turn off "Friend discovery" if the device your child is using is shared and has access to contacts who are not their immediate friends.
• Screen time:
  • If your parental account is linked, you can set screen time limits for your child by going to Settings → Parental Controls → Screen Time.
  • If your parental account is not linked, you can view your child's Roblox screen time in their settings.

Spending/Robux:

• You can set a monthly spending limit on how much money your child can spend on Roblox. You can also enable or disable notifications about your child's spending from your parental control settings in the Spending restrictions section.

Ad preferences:

• You can turn off ad personalization and data selling. You can also turn off data sharing. Ad personalization does not apply to users under the age of 13.

• Content: Roblox does not alert parents to inappropriate content. Even with the most strict settings, it is still possible to access harmful content if left unmonitored.
• Communication: Roblox gives parents more communication-management tools than in the past, including controls over chat permissions and communication eligibility. However, Roblox still does not provide monitoring of chats. And even when chat is set to "no one," if a mini-game has chat built into the game itself, it can't be disabled.
• Time limits: Parents can only set daily Roblox time limits, not game-specific time limits.

What do the content labels on "experiences" mean?

Roblox content labels are intended to reflect the maturity level of games using developer information and Roblox moderation systems. While Roblox has added stronger age-based protections, mislabeled or inappropriate content can still appear. Younger users now have more restricted access to experiences and communication features depending on age, parental settings, and account protections. With new age band sorting, Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts have access to a much smaller library of games. The content maturity settings can be managed within your kid's account, or through your parent account controls if the accounts are linked (see instructions above).

This "Baddies" game is labeled for age 5+ and encourages punching, stomping, shooting, and other violence as part of the opening tutorial.

Within seconds, this "Street Code" game showed an intense, fiery car accident and prompted the player to decide whether to shoot or save an officer.

The sensitive issues content label is applied to experiences that are primarily themed on current social, political, or religious issues. By default, users under 16 cannot access experiences that are labeled as including sensitive issues, though parents can change this in the Sensitive issues settings.

How can I block experiences?

Parents using a linked parental account can block specific Roblox experiences through Parental Controls → Content Restrictions. From there, you can select their child’s account, open the Blocked Experiences section, and search for the experience you want to block. After selecting it, you can confirm the block. Blocked experiences may still appear in search results or recommendations, but the child will not be able to access or join them.

What is a private server, and how can I manage it safely?

A Roblox private server is a personal, invite-only game that lets players play with a select group of users. Some are free and some are paid. The server owner controls who can join, and they can customize settings to create an individual experience. Parents can manage private-server access through parental controls by restricting who their child can join or receive invites from. Depending on the account’s age and settings, options may include limiting access to friends or trusted connections, or disabling private-server access entirely. To limit who can join your child's private servers, and whose servers they can join, select Visibility & private servers in your child's settings, and choose between "Friends" and "Off."

How can I manage my kid's friends list?

Parents with linked accounts can view and manage  their child’s connections through the parental controls dashboard. From there, they can review friends, block or report users, and view account profiles. These settings are typically found under Parental Controls → Connections or Social Settings. You can select an avatar (profile picture) to see the user's profile, and select the three-dot menu next to the connection to manage the relationship with the account. Regularly monitor your child's friends list to ensure they're making appropriate connections, and have conversations with your child about the risks of interacting with people they don't know. 

Once a player enters a mini-game, Roblox will make suggestions about who to add based on the people who are currently playing it. These players are not necessarily kids' friends in real life, since most games are open to the public.

How should I talk to my child about their Roblox usage?

• Build your child's digital citizenship skills with our resources to teach them how to stay safe online.
• Openly discuss the games your child has recently played, and review the content and any interactions they've had with it. Screen time settings will show you their recent experiences so you can have conversations about healthy habits and age-appropriate content.
• Aside from conversations with you, show kids how to use Roblox's Report Abuse feature and encourage them to report anything that makes them feel uncomfortable.
• Use your judgment—if you don't feel your child should be on Roblox because of the potential risks and exposure to adult content, do not allow your child to have an account at all.

This article was created in collaboration with Sarah Gallagher Trombley, founder of Digital Mom Media. This education platform teaches parents how to navigate technology safely with and for their children through workshops, courses, and personal coaching.