The Open Dangers of Roblox: Is Your Child Really Safe?

“A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids” read the headline of a report by Hindenburg Research published on 8 October 2024. On the surface, Roblox is a popular online gaming platform with millions of users under the age of 13. Beneath that harmless facade is a grim reality that parents aren’t fully aware of. 

The official website describes the platform as “the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine.” Roblox has attracted millions of young players eager to explore its open-world games, create digital avatars, and interact with friends in a virtual playground. 

However, this immense appeal has also made Roblox a magnet for those with malicious intents, raising serious concerns about how safe children really are, on the platform. Despite its friendly, imaginative atmosphere, reports and research have highlighted disturbing incidents of inappropriate content, exploitation, and predators targeting minors on Roblox.

While the company enforces moderation and implements safety measures, significant gaps remain. The October 2024 report from Hindenburg Research has sparked renewed conversation on the urgency for spreading awareness and stronger protective measures. 

We speak to experts and parents, to delve into the unsettling underbelly of Roblox, offering insight into the dangers young players may encounter and what parents can do to ensure their child’s safety in this complex virtual environment.

Who Uses Roblox?

In order to fully understand the severity of the risks, it is crucial to examine Roblox's user data.

• In Which Country Is Roblox Most Popular?

Roblox has the largest user base in the USA, UK, and Brazil. Roblox is also expanding in India, where millions of children are hooked to the platform. According to a report by AFK gaming, in Q1 earnings report, Roblox revealed a 58% year-on-year growth in daily active users (DAUs) in India, surpassing the growth seen in key markets such as Japan.

• How Old Are Roblox’s Users?

Roblox's main users are between 9-15 years old. It is also seeing a noticeable growth in children aged 7 to 9 on the platform. 

• Which Games Are The Most Popular On Roblox?

Some of the most popular games include Adopt Me, Brookhaven, and Tower of Hell. While these games may seem harmless on the surface, some have unmoderated or private areas where inappropriate behaviour can occur.

• Is Roblox Free to Use? 

Although most games on Roblox are free to play, children are incentivised to make purchases in the game with real money. These unlock better versions, private servers and additional features.  

The Hindenburg Report: Rampant Abuse, Pornography, Gambling on Roblox

Hindenburg Research, a financial research platform, shared an unsettling report of how Roblox was compromising child safety and “exposing children to grooming, pornography, violent content and extremely abusive speech.”

In July 2024, Bloomberg published a piece on Roblox’s paedophile problem calling Roblox “the world’s biggest recreation zone for kids”.

Parents in the United States have filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing it of illegally enabling child gambling. In California, two parents alleged that their children, listed as minor plaintiffs, unknowingly lost thousands of Robux—the platform’s virtual currency—on various third-party websites, as reported by TechCrunch.

So How Did Roblox Become A Playground For Predators?

Roblox's biggest problem is the ease with which dangerous individuals can navigate it to manipulate and harm children. Millions of children globally are hooked to Roblox because of its attractive games and features. However, the lack of moderation, its chat feature, and the ability to remain anonymous has made Roblox a playground for sexual predators, groomers and extortionists.

Sahil Mohan Gupta, Technology Editor at Businessworld says, “Roblox is an open platform so it is open to all kinds of characters who are deploying content. If parental oversight isn’t there you’re exposing your child to explicit content and predatory behaviour from even a developer which is keeping taps on its users”.

“The inherent nature of Roblox as a gaming platform doesn’t allow it much control. It has similar issues to social media. It will fundamentally need to change the nature of its platform and have stringent control mechanisms like Apple does on the App Store. But these are also very resource intensive measure which a company of Roblox’s size perhaps can’t commit to due to cost restrictions and will

Obviously slow down the growth of the platform. It’s a chicken and egg problem because it’s not profitable yet.”

According to multiple reports, paedophiles would allegedly use the platform to gain children’s trust via in-game interactions, which would then lead to grooming, manipulation, and extortion. More than two dozen people have been arrested by US police since 2018 on charges of abuse or abduction of victims that they met or groomed on Roblox.

Roblox's Dangerous Features 

Roblox has several features that make it a potentially unsafe environment for children:

• Unregulated Chat Rooms: Roblox offers moderation tools, but it's hard to keep an eye on every interaction because of the large number of players. As a result, it can easily be used by predators to connect with and influence children.

• Private Servers: Inappropriate content and conversations can go unnoticed because predators can lure children into private servers or games, which are harder to monitor.

• In-app Purchases: Children may be tricked into sharing their personal information or money for virtual items or gaming privileges via in-game purchases and currency (Robux), which can result in extortion and other forms of exploitation.

How To Keep Your Child Safe On Roblox

In small surveys conducted by Parentune, we found that 75% of parents didn’t use any parental control app or weren’t aware of any of Roblox’s safety features. This, despite the fact that an alarming majority of them admitted to their child playing games on Roblox for over two hours per day. 

While Roblox poses a serious risk, parents can take the following precautions to ensure their children's safety:

In-App Parental Control

Roblox has a number of parental controls that can limit chat features, filter inappropriate content, and regulate spending on the platform. Stephen Balkam, CEO of Family Online Safety Institute, said, “By empowering parents with new controls that allow them to oversee their child’s activity in a flexible, meaningful way, Roblox is taking significant steps toward building a safer digital environment.” 

On November 18, 2024, Roblox updated its safety features allowing parents to remotely adjust controls and track their child’s activity. In fact, parents can now link their Roblox account with their child’s account after proper verification using their ID. This gives parents access to Parental Controls. 

Watch Their Activity

Keep a close eye on your child's chat logs, in-game interactions, and friends list to identify any unusual behaviour. In the survey conducted by Parentune, 50% parents were aware of their child using the chat feature, but weren’t monitoring any of the content being shared. 

The Parental Control Dashboard now allows parents to check their child’s average screen time over the past week and access their friend list. Parents can also set daily screen limits. The child won’t be able to access Roblox once the limit has been reached. 

Turn Off The Chat Feature

Consider turning off the chat feature on the app so that you can completely restrict any unsupervised interaction. As per the recent update, Users who are 13 or below will need their parents’ permission to be able to use certain chat features within the game creation platform. 

Step 1 - Log in to the Roblox account (sign-up if you don’t have an existing account)

Step 2 - Tap on ‘My Roblox’ icon. Click on ‘Account Info’ from the drop-down menu

Step 3 - Choose ‘Update Parent’s Email Address’ and enter your mail ID. Click ‘Update’

Step 4 - You will receive an activation link on your email. Click on it.

Step 5 - Tap on ‘Privacy Mode’ and select ‘Turn Off’. 

Step 6 - Click on ‘Finish Verification’ and it’s done

Third-Party Tools

Third-party monitoring apps can be very helpful for parents to keep an eye on their child’s online activity and flag suspicious interactions. Apart from these, you may also want to install antivirus software and VPN for added security. A 2022 Report has revealed that more than 200,000 Roblox users installed corrupted Chrome extension ”SearchBlox”, which has a malicious backdoor that allows hackers to steal users credentials and assets. Installing antivirus will offer protection against malware/spyware. Scan your device and mails for any suspicious links, private messages or mails. Use VPN to hide your and your child’s location. 

Educate

Have a chat with your child about the risks involved in interacting with strangers and disclosing private information online. Talk to them about what they should do if someone makes them feel uncomfortable. You can ask your child to use the app in a shared space, for example in the living room, where it is easier for you to supervise them. Educating them is not a one-time thing, you will have to talk about it more often. If you encounter any such experience yourself, show your child how you handle the situation, just like a demo. 

Sahil Mohan Gupta says, “If parents do want their kids to engage with Roblox — then major oversight will be required and using an iPhone or iPad will be more logical due to the parental control mechanisms Apple has built in but that’s also not a full safe guard as it’s an online gaming platform and not fully sandboxed.”

The Burning Issue: Internet Safety for Children

Roblox is just one example of the challenges we face in ensuring the safety of children online. As the digital world continues to expand, the risks children are exposed to will only increase. From social media to gaming platforms, it is imperative for parents, educators, and platforms to work together to create safer environments for young users. While technological safeguards are important, open communication with children about the dangers they face online is equally crucial.

Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer, Matt Kaufman, has reportedly said that the platform’s moderation systems scan all chat and other digital content, bleeping out inappropriate words and blocking players from sending images. 

In his article, he has emphasized on these:

“1. We are introducing significant updates to the built-in protections for our youngest users and easy-to-use tools to give parents and caregivers more control and clarity.

2. We are adjusting our built-in limits around how children under age 13 can communicate.

3. Parents can now access parental controls from their own devices rather than from their child’s device and monitor their child’s screen time.” 

In the wake of the heat Roblox has been facing, it has now announced new child safety measures. In its developer forum, Roblox announced these key changes:

1. Users who are 13 or below will need their parents’ permission to be able to use certain chat features within the game creation platform. 

2. Users who are 9 or below will need permission to play games that contain moderate violence or crude humour 

3. There will be a new account type for parents which allows them to monitor their child’s online activity. 

4. Users under the age of 13 will not be able to access unrated experiences. The post said, “this will ensure that parents and users have more clarity into the types of content available on Roblox and will help them make more informed choices about what they want to play”.

5. Children under 13 have been banned from Social hangouts and free-form user creation (e.g., 2D drawing, starting November 18, 2024, to reduce potential risks.