Roblox and children's safety on online gaming platforms:What recent studies reveal and what parents can do

Roblox is one of the most popular gaming platforms for children, with over 70 million daily active users. Promoted as a creative, educational, and safe digital environment, this platform has quickly become a global gathering place for kids. However, a recent study conducted by the UK-based agency Revealing Reality, cited by The Guardian, raises serious concerns about how safe Roblox actually is for children.

The study that questions the platform’s safety

UK researchers created fictional user accounts with ages of 5, 9, 10, 13, and over 40 to test the effectiveness of Roblox’s safety mechanisms and parental controls. The findings are, without exaggeration, alarming: despite default safety settings, children were able to easily access inappropriate content and interact with unknown adults—without effective automatic restrictions or supervision.

One particularly concerning example involved a 5-year-old child who managed to join games with inappropriate content, without any alerts or system intervention. Even more troubling, adults were able to initiate voice chat conversations where the language used was often aggressive or manipulative.

What are the real risks for children?

According to the study, the most common dangers identified include:

• Access to sexually explicit content: In popular games, children can encounter sexualized avatars, private rooms with erotic themes, and deviant behavior.
• Unmonitored interactions with adults: Due to the lack of effective age verification, adults can freely enter virtual spaces commonly used by children.
• Digital grooming: There’s a risk that adults may build false relationships of trust with children in order to manipulate them into sharing personal information or meeting offline.
• Exposure to violent or sexual language via voice chat: The voice chat system does not automatically filter conversations, increasing the risk of accidental exposure to inappropriate messages.

How can parents protect their children online?

1. Enable parental controls

Roblox offers a range of parental control settings, but these must be manually configured. Parents can set age limits for games, restrict chat access, and control who can contact their child.

2. Use digital monitoring apps

Apps like Tutorina provide essential support for parents aiming to ensure their child’s digital safety on platforms like Roblox. Tutorina not only limits screen time but also introduces an educational approach, transforming technology use into a collaborative process between parent and child. Through the "Daily Understanding" feature, parents and children define phone use conditions together—reducing screen dependency.

Tutorina also includes advanced digital control tools such as web content filtering, blocking inappropriate apps, and tracking time spent on each app. The app further incorporates a positive feedback system for children (Like/Dislike), integrated educational quizzes, and clear reports on digital behavior. In a context where internal platform protections are insufficient (as the study indicates), Tutorina offers parents a practical, age-appropriate, and educational tool tailored to their family's needs.

3. Start early with digital education

Children need to learn from a young age what appropriate digital behavior looks like. What defines a real friend? What makes a request suspicious? When should they ask for help? These lessons can be taught through educational games, apps like Tutorina, or offline activities guided by parents.

Is Roblox a playground or a risk zone?

The popularity of Roblox isn’t inherently a problem. Many children enjoy it, learn to create games, and have positive interactions. The issue arises when that interaction escapes adult oversight, and the child lacks the cognitive or digital tools to protect themselves.