Roblox, the popular gaming platform geared toward preteens, has made substantial updates to its safety policy in the last year following accusations of insufficient safety measures for children, which could expose them to risks like grooming, explicit content, and violent material.
The company announced Wednesday three new parental control features, including the option for them to block access to certain experiences or people on their kid’s friends list, as well as the ability to track which experiences their child spends the most time in.
These updates implement a more stringent approach regarding how children play on the platform. To access the new controls, parents first need to link their Roblox account to their child’s account after verifying themselves with an ID or credit card. They can then manage their child’s experience by going to “Parental Controls.”
In the past, parents were able to view their child’s friend list, but the new friend-blocking feature goes a step further, empowering parents to report and block individuals they believe may be harmful, preventing them from direct messaging their kid. Note that children younger than 13 are unable to unblock users that their parents have restricted, but they can request permission from their parents to do so.
While parents already have the option to review or modify the content maturity level set on their child’s account, this new experience-level blocking offers more precise control for parents. Kids can view this list and can request parental approval to unblock experiences.
Additionally, parents can see the 20 experiences their child has engaged with the most over the past week, organized by total time spent. Roblox previously launched the ability for parents to monitor and set limits on their child’s daily screen time.
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