Roblox's Mandatory Face Scan to Use Chat Is a Privacy Overreach
I want to express my deep frustration and anger over Roblox's mandatory age and facial verification system, which the platform now requires just to use the chat feature. This identity verification update, rolled out at the start of 2026, strikes me as unnecessary, a violation of user privacy, and a serious blow to the platform's core social experience.
Instead of locking millions of perfectly normal players out of chat, Roblox should be directing its enormous resources toward active server moderation. If a moderator or advanced system detects that someone is harassing a child or violating critical safety rules, the response should be direct and targeted — device-based bans, IP bans, or legal action where warranted. The people abusing the platform should face consequences, not the entire player base.
On top of that, Roblox already runs an extremely aggressive text filter — so aggressive, in fact, that even a basic greeting like "hello" can get censored and turned into hashtags. When a filter that heavy-handed is already in place and making basic communication a struggle, forcing players to scan their face or upload a government ID just to send a simple message feels like a massive overreach and a serious data privacy risk.
Roblox already has extensive safety tools: parental controls, muting, blocking, and reporting features. If certain users or young children don't know how to behave online or are at risk, monitoring and protecting them is a parental responsibility — one that can be carried out using the tools already available. The broader community can also use those same tools to report and block problematic individuals.
Restricting the chat freedom of millions of honest players because of the bad behavior of a few is a serious injustice. I am asking Roblox to reconsider this aggressive policy, remove the mandatory age and facial verification requirement — or at minimum make it optional — and shift the real focus to strict hardware-based bans for bad actors and more effective use of existing parental controls.
