IT’S the hit game loved by 380MILLION players – and there’s a good chance that your child is one of them.
But parents beware. Roblox may seem like a wonderful fantasy game, but it has a dark side that could turn your child’s world into a virtual nightmare with racists, sex pests, and online predators trying to groom them.
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If that wasn’t bad enough, you might even be hit with a shock £1,000 bill.
The hit online game first launched back in 2006, and is now a global sensation available on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, iPhone and Android phones, computers and even virtual reality headsets.
It’s a feature-packed free download that lets creative kids invent magical worlds and hang out with their pals online.
But over the years, The Sun has revealed how Roblox has been plagued by sicko predators threatening children with sexual violence, twisted racist roleplay, and kids being allowed to spend £1,000 on the game’s virtual Robux currency.
Now The Sun, child safety experts and security professionals are urging parents to make sure the safest Roblox settings are active on their child’s gadgets – to protect them online, and to keep your bank account safe.
TO DELETE OR NOT TO DELETE?
Firstly, it’s important to note that experts aren’t saying that you must delete the game.
It might be the safest option, but it also means your kid being left out from socialising with pals and expressing their creativity. It could even be a lucrative side-hustle for them one day too.
“Games and apps are an excellent space for children to have fun and communicate with friends, yet they can come with dangers,” NSPCC’s Rani Govender tells the The Sun.
“Unknown players asking to connect might not have good intentions – and there’s a risk your kids might see difficult content.
“Some parents decide that it’s safer for their child not to play online, while others actively encourage the use of them.
“Whatever your position, it’s important to have conversations with young people about your stance. If you are happy for them to play online games, then spend time together exploring the settings that will keep them safe.
“Children and young people should talk to a trusted adult if they have any questions or concerns when playing online, this could include a parent, carer or one of our trained counsellors at Childline.”
If you do decide to let your kids keep the game, you’ll want to make sure the game is set up for four things: content maturity, privacy, security, and protecting your own finances.
FIRST STEP: LINK YOUR CHILD’S ROBLOX ACCOUNT
Before you do anything else, you’ll want to make your own Roblox account.
That way, you can set it up as a parent to manage your child’s profile. If you do nothing else, do this.
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It’ll let you control their settings – and you can explore Roblox with them, if you want to.
To create a parent account, you’ll need to enter your birthday, verify your age with an ID or credit card, and then link your child’s account.
Here’s what to do:
- Go to your child’s Roblox account, click the gear icon, then choose Settings > Parental Controls > Add Parent
- Now type in your own email – the same one you yourself used to create a Roblox account
- Next, go to your email inbox and click the link in the email from Roblox
- Choose Use Existing Account and then log in
- Follow the steps to verify your age with a government-issued ID or credit card
- Wait for the page to automatically refresh, choose Agree to the account linking, and then you’re good to go
Once that’s done, you can control your child’s Roblox settings, see how much time they’re spending on the game, and probe their online pals.
SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #1 – CONTENT SAFETY
Why it’s important: Roblox has a wide range of content – some totally safe, and some very disturbing. With the right settings, you can easily limit and even block dodgy experiences for your child.
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First, you’ll want to limit the maturity of the content your child can access:
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls
- Choose Settings Your Manage > Content Maturiy
- Then choose Content Maturity > Concent Restrictions
- Slide the bar for where you’re comfortable – and choose the lowest maturity level for the safest experience
You can also invade your child’s privacy by checking what they’ve been up to:
- Go to Settings
- Then choose Parental Controls
- Now go to Screen Time > Manage
- Finally, select Top Experiences
This will show the top 20 Roblox experiences that they’ve played in the past week.
WHAT DO ROBLOX CONTENT LABELS MEAN?
Here’s how Roblox experiences are labelled…
Minimal: May contain occasional mild violence, light unrealistic blood, and/or occasional mild fear.
Mild: May contain repeated mild violence, heavy unrealistic blood, mild crude humour, and/or repeated mild fear.
Moderate: May contain moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humour, unplayable gambling content, and/or moderate fear.
Restricted: May contain strong violence, heavy realistic blood, moderate crude humour, romantic themes, unplayable gambling content, the presence of alcohol, strong language, and/or moderate fear. We allow access to Restricted content only for users who are 17+ age-verified.
Picture Credit: Roblox
If you see one you don’t like, you can block your child from accessing it ever again – regardless of how “mature” it’s listed as. To do that:
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls
- Select Settings You Manage > Content Restrictions
- Choose Blocked Experiences then tap the plus icon
- Search the name of the experience you’re trying to block
- Now choose Block and then hit confirm
A word of warning: this won’t kick your child out of an experience they’re playing right now. The block will only activate the next time they try to get into it.
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SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #2 – PRIVACY
Why it’s important: Privacy settings keep strangers and online weirdos from getting too close to your child – or finding out info about them. The more private you set Roblox to be, the less chance a predator can contact them.
Next, make sure they’re not talking to anyone dodgy by limiting who they can interact with.
For Experience chat:
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Settings You Manage > Communication > Communication
- Then choose Experience Chat
- For the safest option, choose No One for both Experience Chat and Experience Direct Chat – preventing them from talking to anyone in a Roblox Experience
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For Party chat:
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Settings You Manage > Communication > Communication
- Then choose Party
- This will be set to Friends by default, but you can change it to No One for an even safer experience
You can limit who can join their private experience server too:
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Settings You Manage > Visibility & Private Servers > Private Servers
- Then choose either Friends, or switch it to Off for the safest experience
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You can see and manage your child’s Roblox friends list (and report people too) easily:
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Friends > Manage
- You’ll see a list of your child’s friends with all of their usernames and profile pictures – tap one to see their profile
- Then you can block or report them by choosing the three-dot menu next to that friend
If you block someone, they won’t be able to chat with your child or add them as a friend again without your permission.
Report them if you’re worried they might be sinister.
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SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #3 – SECURITY
Why it’s important: Security settings are what keep your child’s Roblox account safe from hackers. If someone breaks in, they could change their settings, steal private info, spend your money, and ruin their account.
You’ll want to make sure that you have two-step verification set up on your child’s account.
This means that even if your child gives away their password or someone guesses it, they still can’t log in.
Instead, they’ll also need to enter a temporary code – which can come via email or an authenticator app (like the Google Authenticator).
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Here’s what to do:
- Log into Roblox then go to Account Settings
- Choose Security
- Toggle on 2-Step Verification with a method of your choice
- Email is the easiest option
Make sure you set it up for your own Roblox account too.
Otherwise a hacker could break into your account to target your child.
Expert’s top safety tips
Here’s advice from cybersecurity expert Anne Cutler, of Keeper Security…
“The internet can present significant risks to children, particularly when they’re using collaborative online gaming platforms,” Anna told The Sun.
“Sites like Roblox have the option to set up parental controls, which can limit chat features, block certain content and monitor usage.
“Children should be encouraged to report bullying, be sceptical about friends they meet online, limit exposure to content that is not age-appropriate and keep tabs on daily screen time.
“Educating children on cybersecurity may feel daunting for adults.
“Parents should familiarise themselves with their children’s devices and online activities.
“Emphasising the use of strong and unique passwords, and the importance of never sharing them, as well as caution regarding online acquaintances are vital preventative measures.”
Picture Credit: Anne Cutler / Keeper Security
SAFEST ROBLOX SETTINGS #4 – FINANCES
Why it’s important: Roblox is a free game, but it has ways of spending money. Chances are that your child doesn’t have their own store of cash – so they’ll be using your bank account instead. You need to make sure they can’t accidentally (or secretly) empty the coffers.
Once you’re set up as a parent on Roblox, you can also manage your child’s spending.
You can set specific monthly spending restrictions.
And you can even get spending notifications beamed straight to your phone.
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That way, you can limited how much cash they’re splashing on Robux as well as on experience subscriptions.
Here’s what to do:
- Go to Settings
- Now go to Parental Controls
- Next choose Settings You Manage
- Scroll down and choose Spending Restrictions
- Set a monthly spending limit (this won’t roll over!)
- Enable spending notifications and choose how often you want to be notified. The safest option is for every transaction
The only catch is that these settings won’t stop your child from using your card outside of the game to buy gift cards for Roblox. That’s on you to watch out for.
Also, it’s possible for children with an Xbox to spend money on Roblox even if you’ve set up limits through the game’s parental controls.
So in that case, you’d need to go into your own Microsoft account, choose Settings > Account > Family Settings > Manage Family Members > Privacy & Online Safety > Xbox Live Privacy > View Details & Customise > Buy & Download and then choose Ask A Parent.
This will force the child to ask your permission before they can make a Roblox purchase on Xbox.
BONUS SETTING – SCREEN TIME
You might also feel like your child is spending way too much time on Roblox. You can restrict that too…
This lets you limit how much time your child can spend on Roblox every day.
Once they hit their limit, they’ll get a message explaining what’s happened – and they won’t be able to play any more.
Here’s what to do:
- Go to Settings
- Choose Parental Controls
- Scroll to Screen time > Manage > Screen Time Limit
- Then just choose a time limit from the Daily Limit dropdown menu
Picture Credit: Roblox
“We take our responsibility for safety seriously, and have spent nearly two decades building strong safety systems as our platform and our community has grown,” a Roblox spokesperson told The Sun.
“In the past year, we’ve introduced more than 40 safety updates.
“Including new parental control features to give parents and caregivers greater control and visibility over their child’s experience on Roblox, alongside enhanced default protections for our youngest users.
“We’re not stopping there, and we’ll continue to innovate to make Roblox a safe and civil space for play, learning and creativity.”
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