How to set Roblox parental controls

Three Roblox characters running towards the screen
(Image credit: Roblox Corporation)

Quick steps

  • Log into your child’s Roblox account
  • Go into Settings
  • Set the parental controls to your preference

Roblox includes several in-built parental control features, which allow you to restrict how your children play the game and who they’re able to interact with online.

When your kids play Roblox, they’ll more than likely spend a lot of time playing and chatting with other users. Here’s how you can control those multiplayer interactions. You may want to check our list of the best free parental control software and the best parental control apps.

What do you need?

  • A computer or mobile phone
  • Access to your child’s Roblox account

How to set Roblox parental controls

Roblox characters running around

(Image credit: Roblox)

Roblox applies several safety settings automatically. Players will face different limits to what they can do or say depending on the age group of their account.

Players aged 12 or younger have more words and phrases filtered from public and private chats to keep them suitable for younger audiences. Players aged 13 and over can use more words, but inappropriate content and personal information are still automatically removed. 

You can restrict chat functions further in Roblox's account settings. You’ll be able to limit or disable who your child can chat with, who can message them, who can invite them to private servers, and who can follow them into multiplayer games.

That’s useful if you want to control who your child is playing with online.

Steps

  • Log into a Roblox account through a computer browser or the Roblox mobile app
  • If you’re in a browser, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen. If you’re using a phone, tap the three dots in the lower-right corner
  • Select the Settings
  • Select the Privacy option
  • Adjust the control settings to your preference

How to set full account restrictions?

A cast of Roblox characters dressed in lots of different outfits

(Image credit: Roblox Corporation)

To fully restrict all chat and social features in the game, you can enable account restrictions. This will lock their settings so that no other player can send them messages, chat with them, or find their account by its phone number.

Steps

  • Log into a Roblox account through a computer browser or the Roblox mobile app
  • If you’re in a browser, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen. If you’re using a phone, tap the three dots in the lower-right corner
  • Select the Settings
  • Select Parental Controls
  • Navigate to the Account Restrictions sections
  • Press the Account Restrictions toggle, which will turn green when it’s activated

Final thoughts

Roblox has come under criticism in recent years for not doing enough to protect its players. While the game provides optional chat safety settings, an investigation by People Make Games shed light on how Roblox uses deliberately obscure language and monetization techniques to exploit young game developers into creating free content.

A second investigation revealed further problems with Roblox’s moderation, child safety, gambling, and unregulated community groups. Others have found instances of Roblox users creating hidden strip clubs, and fascist, anti-Semitic roleplaying games.

The steps above can be used to set parental controls within Roblox, but be aware of the more unscrupulous practices the game facilitates among its community.

Callum Bains
Gaming News Writer

Callum is TechRadar Gaming’s News Writer. You’ll find him whipping up stories about all the latest happenings in the gaming world, as well as penning the odd feature and review. Before coming to TechRadar, he wrote freelance for various sites, including Clash, The Telegraph, and Gamesindustry.biz, and worked as a Staff Writer at Wargamer. Strategy games and RPGs are his bread and butter, but he’ll eat anything that spins a captivating narrative. He also loves tabletop games, and will happily chew your ear off about TTRPGs and board games.