If you feel like you need a PhD in digital forensics just to keep up with what your kid is doing in Roblox, you aren’t alone. For years, the platform has been a bit of a "Wild West." We’ve all heard the horror stories about grooming risks in DMs or kids accidentally stumbling into "condo" games (the community term for inappropriate, user-generated spaces).

In late 2024, Roblox finally listened to the collective sigh of exhausted parents and rolled out a massive safety playbook. They’ve fundamentally changed how kids communicate and how we, as parents, keep tabs on them. It’s not perfect—nothing is—but it’s the most aggressive move they’ve made toward "digital wellness" since the platform launched.

Your kid might tell you these updates are "Lizz" or "totally Ohio" (which, for the uninitiated, basically means weird or bad), mostly because they lose a little bit of autonomy. But for us, this matters because it addresses the two biggest risks on the platform: unfiltered communication with strangers and access to mature content.

Roblox isn't just a game; it's a social network disguised as a game engine. Whether they are playing Adopt Me! or Brookhaven, the social pressure to fit in and the desire to chat is what keeps them glued to the screen. These new settings don't take away the fun, but they do put up the guardrails that should have been there years ago.

The biggest "thank you" goes to the new remote management feature. Previously, if you wanted to change your kid’s settings, you had to physically grab their device, log in as them, and navigate a clunky menu.

Now, you can link your account to theirs. You get a dashboard on your phone that lets you:

Learn how to link your parent account to Roblox

This is the "no-BS" safety win we’ve been waiting for. As of late 2024, users under the age of 13 can no longer send or receive Direct Messages (DMs) outside of a specific game.

In the past, kids could message anyone on their friends list from the main dashboard. This was a prime spot for "off-platforming"—where bad actors try to move a kid from Roblox chat to a less-moderated app like Discord or Snapchat.

By killing DMs for the under-13 crowd, Roblox has effectively shut down the "private" hallway of the digital playground. Kids can still chat inside a game (like talking to teammates in BedWars), but those chats are heavily filtered and public to everyone in that server.

Roblox used to label games as "All Ages," "9+," or "13+." It was vague and didn't really tell you why a game got that rating. Was it because of cartoon violence? Scary themes?

The new system uses Content Labels. Instead of just an age, you’ll see specific descriptors like:

By default, kids under 9 are now restricted to "Minimal" or "Mild" content unless you manually go in and give them permission to see "Moderate" stuff. This is a great way to filter out those weirdly intense horror games that seem to be everywhere lately.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: Robux.

If your kid is asking for Robux to buy a "limited" hat or a "legendary" pet, it’s easy to feel like the app is just a giant vacuum for your bank account. However, there is a flip side. Roblox is one of the few platforms where kids can actually learn the basics of the creator economy.

If your kid is using Roblox Studio to build their own games or design clothes, they are learning 3D modeling, basic Lua scripting, and supply-and-demand economics.

If they’re just consuming, it's a drain. If they're creating, it's a world-class educational tool.

Ask our chatbot about managing Robux spending

At this age, Roblox should be a "living room only" activity. Use the new remote controls to set their content level to "Minimal" and "Mild." At this stage, they don't need to be talking to anyone they don't know in real life. Stick to well-known, highly moderated games like Pet Simulator 99.

The "tween" years are when the social pressure ramps up. They will want to play "Moderate" games with their friends. This is a good time to use the remote dashboard to periodically check their friends list. Talk to them about "Internet Strangers 2.0"—it’s not just "don't talk to strangers," it's "don't give out your Discord tag or your real name to anyone, even if they seem nice."

Once they hit 13, the DM restrictions lift. If you’ve done the groundwork in the younger years, this is where you start to loosen the reins. However, keep the "Remote Management" linked so you can still see if they are spending 6 hours a day on it.

One specific part of the 2024 update is that kids under 13 are now restricted from "Social Hangout" games. These are games where the primary goal isn't to do something (like race cars or build a house) but just to chat. These spaces were notorious for being unmoderated and "creepy." Roblox has basically decided that if there's no gameplay, kids under 13 shouldn't be there. We agree.

Instead of saying, "I'm locking down your Roblox because it's dangerous," try a more collaborative approach:

"Hey, Roblox updated their safety stuff so I can manage your screen time from my phone now. It means I don't have to nag you to get off your iPad at night—the app will just let you know when time is up. Also, since they turned off DMs for kids your age, let's make sure you have your actual friends' phone numbers if you want to talk to them outside of the game."

It frames the change as a "platform rule" rather than a "parent rule," which usually goes over much better with a 10-year-old.

Roblox is a massive, complicated, and often weird place. But with the late 2024 updates, it has become significantly easier to manage. The combination of Remote Management, DM bans for under-13s, and Content Labels gives us the tools we need to let our kids play without feeling like we’re throwing them into a digital shark tank.

Is it "brain rot"? Sometimes. But with the right settings, it can also be a place for creativity, connection, and learning how to navigate the digital world with training wheels on.

Check out our full guide on screen time boundaries Ask about the best 'non-brain-rot' games on Roblox