The aftermath of Roblox AI " Age Verification "

On September 21, 2021, Roblox announced Roblox Age Verification via ID card for creators and users for certain features such as Voice Chat (VC) and access to a generally new feature known as 17+ experiences. When this was released, there was little to no fan outage. It actually seemed like a decent idea. Since then, the idea has swiftly changed in the minds of players. Most users have been outraged.

The Initial response

When the announcement on November 18, 2025, for mandatory AI-powered facial age estimations for all users, many players were ready to quit the platform. After all was said with their double down, a few quotes from the community were chosen to be shown as a snapshot from the time.

"What on earth is Roblox thinking?!"

(Toward parents) "Do your [important] jobs as a parent and pay attention to what your children are doing, don't let companies have to do it for you"

https://devforum.roblox.com - " If you flip this situation, and a predator gets ahold of an account that's marked as super young, then they have free reign and will know for a fact they're talking to children. This change is awful, and is actually benefitting predators. "

Studies on AI Age Verification Show:

AI-powered age verification, often utilizing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), is reported to be less accurate for people with Black, Asian, Indigenous, and Southeast Asian backgrounds. It often fails to properly classify transgender and non-binary individuals and shows higher error rates for older adults. While AI-powered facial recognition can estimate age within two to three years by analyzing wrinkles and skin condition, studies warn that the systems are “highly susceptible to spoofing.” Simple presentation attacks such as a printed photo, a smooth mask to mimic younger skin or even a silicone dummy face can fool verification systems, especially when users authenticate through their own laptop or phone cameras lacking sophisticated liveness detection.

Backlash Against Persona

When Roblox revealed they will use Persona for their verification, the community was none to less upset. Persona is not known for their good works in the public eye. Some concerns are:

Security researchers found a "far more expansive surveillance" system than promised, finding that Persona’s exposed frontend could have compromised sensitive user data, such as allegedly storing biometric data for up to three years. Using AI to estimate ages is not fully effective, and if they over-estimate an underaged user without an ID, there is next to nothing that they can do.

What now?

Unless Roblox does remove these changes, Roblox will continue to have age checks. The issue to some, and solution to others, will remain in effect.

One thing remains too: the majority of players will remain unhappy, and the platform may be slightly safer.