Only users aged 13 and older will be able to use Roblox’s upcoming voice chat. To check a person’s identity, the platform has introduced a special two-stage age verification system.
The rollout started on September 21. The verification process will be available in more than 180 countries on both mobile and desktop versions of Roblox.
As of the second quarter of 2021, almost 50% of users on the platform are over the age of 13. All of them will be able to use Spatial Voice. It is a special voice chat that lets people hear conversations that are happening close to their in-game characters.
The age verification comes in two stages:
- A user provides a scan of their ID (passport, driver’s license, or other government-issued ID);
- A person captures a selfie, which will be checked for “likeness” and “liveness” (a photo must ensure that it was taken by a living individual and wasn’t just a static image).
According to Roblox, it “does not store raw ID document nor the selfie data.” As soon as the verification process is completed, the system generated an anonymized value, “allowing Roblox to safely verify identity without risking exposure of the user’s real identity.”
Spatial Voice is now in a limited beta for developers. Other users will get access to the new feature this fall.
“Being confident in a user’s age and identity is a critical foundation for metaverse safety and civility,” the company said in a statement. The age verification system will later be used to add new features to the platform.