Roblox parental controls only work if you have your own Roblox account, age-checked as an adult, linked to your child’s account. Everything else — content limits, chat, screen time, spending, blocking a game — sits behind that link. Set it up first. It takes about ten minutes and needs a government-issued ID or a credit card.[1]
Once linked, you manage everything from your own phone or computer. You never have to log into your child’s account or hold their device to change a setting.[2]
Two 2026 changes make older guides wrong. Since January 7, 2026, every user must pass an age check to use chat at all.[3] Since June 16, 2026, children under 16 sit in new account types — Roblox Kids and Roblox Select — that limit which games they can open before you touch a setting.[4] If a guide does not mention those, it predates them. Our Roblox safety guide for parents covers where the risk actually sits; this page is the click path.
Fast Facts About Roblox Parental Controls
- You need a separate Roblox account with parent privileges, age-checked at 18 or older, linked to your child’s.
- Every control lives in the same place once linked: Settings > Parental Controls.
- Screen time limits and spending limits stop applying when your child turns 13.
- Chat settings and game blocks stop applying when your child turns 16.
- At 18, the accounts unlink automatically.
- None of it reaches chat that a game’s creator built themselves, gift card redemption, or anything that moves off Roblox.
If your child is in danger right now
- Call 911 if there is an immediate threat.
- Report exploitation to the NCMEC CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.
- If sexual images of your child are being shared or threatened, Take It Down can help remove them.
- If your child is thinking about suicide, call or text 988.
Set up your parent account before anything else
Roblox calls this “an account with parent privileges.” You must be age-checked at 18 or older to create one, using a government-issued ID or a credit card. Two parents can each link their own account to the same child.[5]
If your child starts it
Your child opens Settings > Parental Controls > Add parent and enters your email address. Roblox emails you. In that email, choose Create account, or Use existing account if you already have one — the email on your Roblox account has to match the address the email went to. Verify your age, then select Agree.[1]
If you start it on their device
Open Settings on their device, then Parental Controls > Add parent, verify your age, and select Agree.[1]
To unlink later: Settings > Parental Controls > pick the child > pencil icon at top right > Unlink accounts. That ends your ability to set limits or approve anything.[1]
Where the settings live on the app and in a browser
Only the way you reach Settings differs. In a browser, it is the gear icon at the top right. In the iOS or Android app, it is More at the bottom right, then Settings. Everything after that is identical on Roblox.com and in the apps.[1][5]
From Settings, go to Parental Controls and select your child’s account. Most controls sit under a heading called Settings you manage. Screen time and Connections sit further down the same dashboard.[2]
The age check decides most of what follows
Roblox sorts users into age groups — 5-8, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20 and 21+ — using facial age estimation through the device camera, or ID verification, which is only available from age 13. Roblox says it deletes the images and video after processing.[6] The group sets the account type: Roblox Kids for 5-8, Roblox Select for 9-15, standard Roblox at 16 and over. Kids accounts see only games rated Minimal or Mild; Select adds Moderate; 16+ gets everything except Restricted.[7]
If the age on the account is wrong, you can correct it — but a linked parent can change a child’s birthday only once.[6] Get it right the first time.
Limit what your child can open
Settings > Parental Controls > select your child > Settings you manage > Content restrictions > Content maturity, then drag the slider. A description of what each level allows appears underneath as you move it.[2]
| Label | What Roblox says it may contain |
|---|---|
| Minimal | Occasional mild violence, light unrealistic blood, occasional mild fear |
| Mild | Repeated mild violence, heavy unrealistic blood, mild crude humor, repeated mild fear |
| Moderate | Moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humor, unplayable gambling content, moderate fear |
| Restricted | Strong violence, heavy realistic blood, romantic themes, alcohol, strong language |
Restricted content is for age-checked adults only. Roblox’s own overview page says “17+ age-verified” in one sentence and “18+ age checked users” in another — either way, not a child or teen account.[2]
Games built around current social, political or religious topics have their own switch, off by default under 13: Content restrictions > Sensitive issues > toggle Allow sensitive issues.[2]
Block one specific game
Settings > Parental Controls > select your child > Settings you manage > Content restrictions > Blocked games > the + icon, type the game’s name, then Block and confirm.[2]
Two caveats before you rely on it. A blocked game still shows up in search — it just will not open. And blocking a game your child is currently inside does nothing until the next time they try to enter.[2]
Requests to play something outside their catalog arrive by email and under Pending requests, where you choose Allow or Don’t allow. Revoke an approval later from Content restrictions > Allowed games.[2]
Chat is the setting most worth your time
Go to Settings > Parental Controls > Settings you manage > Communication. There are three text settings plus Party:[2]
- Game chat — text chat with other players in a similar age group inside a game.
- Game direct chat — one-to-one messages sent with the
/wcommand inside a game server. - Friends chat — text chat with people on your child’s friends list.
- Party and Group Party — set each to Friends or No one. Party is limited to age-checked users over 13.
Roblox’s own pages disagree on where the consent line falls. The Parental Controls Overview says under 9 for game chat and under 13 for direct chat; the chat help page says ages 5 to 9 for experience chat and under 16 for direct chat.[2][8] Check what your child’s account actually shows rather than assuming.
The limitation that matters most sits on Roblox’s own page in one line: these settings “do not apply to chat features developed independently by developers.”[2] A creator can build a text box or a proximity chat inside their own game, and your chat settings do not reach it. For how contact actually starts, read how predators approach children on Roblox.
Friends, and the Trusted Friends list
To see who your child is connected to: Settings > Parental Controls > Connections > Manage. Tap an avatar to open a profile; the three-dot menu lets you Block or Report. A blocked user cannot chat with your child or send another friend request without your permission.[2]
Trusted Friends is a second, tighter tier. Both people have to agree, and it unlocks Party Voice and, in supported regions, chat without filters — meaning a trusted friendship removes the text filter between your child and that person.[9]
For a child under 13 you approve each trusted friend individually, by email or from Pending requests; requests expire after 24 hours, and the list lives under Friends > Trusted.[10] Teenagers aged 13 to 17 cannot make an adult a trusted friend through the app alone — Roblox requires a real-life method such as a live QR code scan or a contact import, and a screenshotted code does not count.[9][10]
Set a daily screen time limit
Settings > Parental Controls > scroll to Screen time and select Manage next to the seven-day average chart > Screen time limit > choose from the Daily limit dropdown. When your child hits the limit, Roblox shows a message and closes off the rest of the day.[2] Roblox lists the daily limit as available for Roblox Kids accounts and for 9- to 12-year-olds on Roblox Select.[14]
The same screen has a Top games view listing the 20 games your child played most last week.[2] That list usually tells you more than the timer does. If the hours themselves worry you, our video game addiction test is a free educational self-check, not a diagnosis.
Set a spending limit and switch on high-spend alerts
Settings > Parental Controls > Settings you manage > Spending restrictions > Monthly spending limit, enter an amount, then Update. The limit resets at the end of each calendar month and unused amounts do not roll over.[11][2]
High spend notifications are on by default for every linked parent: Roblox says you should get an email after $100, $250 and $500 of spending in a month, then after every ten transactions past $500. The same menu can switch you to a notification for every transaction.[2]
Two gaps: the limit does not touch gift card redemption at all, and may not apply on some consoles — Xbox purchases have to be limited through Xbox’s own settings.[11]
What changes at 13, and again at 16
Roblox hands control to the child in stages, quietly. The schedule is worth knowing in advance.
| Age | What you lose | What you keep |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Screen time limits and blocking users pass to your child. Spending limits stop applying. Your child manages their own email, phone number and ads. | Direct chat settings, allowing and blocking games, screen time insights, top games, friends list, age-check status. |
| 16 | Chat settings and game blocks stop applying. The account becomes a standard Roblox account, with access to everything except Restricted. | Visibility into friends, screen time and spending, and the option to keep spending notifications on. |
| 18 | The accounts unlink automatically. | Nothing. |
If you want to keep getting spending emails after your child turns 13, you have to re-enable them: Parental Controls > scroll to the bottom of the dashboard > Spending Insights > Spending Notifications.[12]
What these controls do not cover
Set all of it and you have still not covered the following. That is not a criticism of the settings — it is the shape of what they are.
- Chat a creator built into their own game. Roblox states plainly that parental communication settings do not apply to it.[2] This is the single largest hole.
- Gift cards. A Roblox gift card bought with cash converts to Robux without touching your spending limit.[11]
- Console purchases. Set those on the console.[11]
- Anything off Roblox. Once a conversation moves to Discord, a messaging app or a phone number, no Roblox setting applies — and that move is the normal pattern in grooming, not an exotic one.
- Screen time outside Roblox. The daily limit ends Roblox for the day, and nothing else.
- Games you have not thought of. Blocking works one title at a time.[2] The ones worth knowing about by name are condo games, which are re-uploaded faster than any block list keeps up.
- A filter removed by consent. Trusted Friends can turn off text filtering between two people.[9]
When you report something, report the specific content, not the person’s profile — Roblox says its moderators cannot act on a profile report because they cannot see what happened. In a game, open the menu at the upper left, select the flag icon next to the username or the Report tab, then choose Person or Experience. To report a whole game, use the red Report Abuse button on its About page.[13]
Settings are the floor, not the plan. What actually protects a child is knowing which games they are in, being someone they tell when something feels off, and knowing where to go when it does. Our parents’ online safety center covers the rest.
Sources
- Roblox Support — Parents: How to Link Your Child’s Account. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — Parental Controls Overview. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox — A New Era of Safety: Facial Age Checks Now Required to Chat on Roblox. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox — Age-Based Roblox Kids and Roblox Select Accounts Now Globally Available. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — Parental Controls FAQ. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — Understanding Age Checks on Roblox. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — What are Roblox Kids and Roblox Select?. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — How to chat on Roblox. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — Unlocking trusted friends. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — How do I add trusted friends?. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — Monthly Spending Limits. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — What happens as my child or teen gets older on Roblox?. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox Support — How to Report Rule Violations. Accessed September 19, 2026.
- Roblox — Parental Controls. Accessed September 19, 2026.