What’s My Age Again? The Face Scan is Turning Heads (Literally)

Roblox made waves with the global rollout of mandatory facial age verification for all chat features—and the community is not happy about it. Starting January 7, users worldwide must complete a face scan through their device camera to access any chat functions on the platform. The system uses AI-powered facial age-estimation technology from vendor Persona to sort players into age groups (under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, and 18+), restricting communication to users within similar age brackets. Roblox positioned this as a "gold standard" for online safety, claiming it's the first major gaming platform to require age checks for users of all ages.

But here's where it gets messy. Developers on the Roblox forum are reporting catastrophic player drops, especially for roleplay and social games that rely heavily on text communication. One creator wrote that this update "absolutely cripples RP groups" and watched their entire playerbase vanish overnight when chat became locked. Games that center on collaborative storytelling, virtual hangouts, and team-based experiences are seeing servers go from full to empty as players either refuse to verify or get age-gated out of playing with friends.

The safety concerns cut both ways. While Roblox insists the facial scans are immediately deleted after processing and never stored, reports surfaced within days of people selling pre-verified accounts on eBay for $4.45, allowing minors to bypass the entire system. Security researchers also raised alarms about potential AI manipulation—what's stopping bad actors from using deepfake technology or borrowed photos to trick the age estimation?

Meanwhile, legitimate users are getting misidentified, with some adults being categorized as teens and losing access to their friend groups. Roblox has appeal processes in place, but the trust is all but gone. The platform promises this is just the foundation for future safety innovations, but right now, it's causing more chaos than comfort.