The Illusion of Safety: How One Unchecked Box on Roblox Opens a World of Risk

Is Roblox the safe, curated playground it claims to be, or a digital city teeming with unseen risks? In our national survey of 1,000 parents, nearly half revealed that their children are exploring the platform without its strongest safety barriers in place.

While Roblox offers a powerful “Account Restrictions” mode, a digital ‘walled garden’ that locks a child’s experience to only the safest, platform-vetted content, a critical 47% of parents have not enabled it. This means millions of kids could be exploring a far wider and less predictable world of user-generated games than their parents assume.

Recent developments make the risk even clearer. In Louisiana, the state’s Attorney General has sued Roblox, accusing it of failing to enforce child safety protections and enabling exploitative content. (See CNN’s coverage: Louisiana sues Roblox over child protection.) Florida’s Attorney General has also recently issued criminal subpoenas against the platform, stating that it’s a breeding ground for child predators. 

Meanwhile, journalist Chris Hansen, known for his work exposing online predators, recently announced a new documentary in collaboration with law enforcement and advocacy groups investigating Roblox’s handling of child safety.

Experts are urging parents to check their settings today, calling this one of the simplest and most effective safety measures available to ensure their child’s digital world is as protected as possible. 

Key Findings:

The Critical Window: Nearly Half of Roblox Players Are Between Ages 9 and 12

Roblox’s player base is dominated by children who are at a key stage in their social and cognitive development.

That age bracket lines up with what many online safety and child development scholars call a “tween” stage, when kids become more socially aware yet still lack the maturity to fully evaluate online risks. Research highlights how youth’s perceptions of digital well-being are shaped at this age, when they are developing autonomy in their online behavior.

Also, research applying the “4Cs” framework (Content, Conduct, Contact, Consumer) underscores how children under age 13 face layered online risks that require tailored protection strategies.

The combination of curiosity and limited judgment makes strong safety controls even more important. Without careful oversight, these young players may be exposed to interactions or content they are not prepared to navigate.

Parental Confidence Split: 61% Trust Roblox Controls to Block Predators, But a Critical Minority Remains Skeptical

Many parents place their trust in Roblox’s safety tools, believing the platform’s built-in protections are strong enough to safeguard their kids from harmful interactions.

This confidence shows that most parents see Roblox as a safe environment, relying on features like chat filters and privacy settings.

Yet, the flip side is equally important: nearly 40% of parents remain unconvinced or are unsure, signaling a deep divide in how families perceive digital safety. That skepticism points to an urgent need for clearer communication from platforms and more proactive measures to reassure all parents.

Red Flag for Parents: Nearly 30% Report Roblox Controls Fail to Block Unwanted Content

While many parents feel confident in Roblox’s safety features, a troubling share have seen those protections fall short.

For nearly one-third of families, the gap between expectation and reality is clear. Children may still encounter mature language, inappropriate themes, or unsolicited messages, even with safeguards in place. This disconnect highlights the importance of not treating parental controls as foolproof and reinforces why ongoing parental oversight remains critical.

Roblox’s “Walled Garden” Left Unlocked by 47% of Parents

Roblox offers one of its strongest safety tools through the “Account Restrictions” feature, which limits kids to a curated library of platform-approved games. Despite its importance, many parents are not using it.

Without this safeguard, millions of children are navigating a much broader and less predictable digital world than parents may realize. The setting is designed to serve as a secure barrier, but leaving it off means the digital gate remains open to a wide range of unvetted user-generated content. Parents are either uneducated about the settings, or have been led to believe that Roblox is safe for their children, and therefore do not need to utilize all the parental controls.

A Clear Mandate: 66% of Parents Say Real-Time Suspicious Chat Alerts Are the Key to Building Trust

Parents are looking for stronger, more proactive tools to help them feel confident about their child’s safety online.

This shows that families are ready for safety features that go beyond simple content filters. Parents want immediate notifications if their child is exposed to predatory behavior, bullying, or inappropriate requests. The demand for real-time alerts points to a shift in expectations, where prevention and instant response matter more than passive safeguards.

Major Safety Gap: Over a Third of Parents Don’t Use or Aren’t Aware of Roblox’s Parental Controls

Even though Roblox offers a suite of tools to help families manage safety, many parents are not taking advantage of them.

Together, these findings reveal a serious disconnect between the availability of safety features and parents’ understanding of them. Whether it is due to lack of awareness, technical uncertainty, or the assumption that controls are unnecessary, many families are missing out on protections that could make a real difference in their child’s online experience.

The ‘Set It and Forget It’ Risk: Nearly 1 in 4 Mothers Never Review or Adjust Their Child’s Roblox Safety Settings

Even though Roblox offers a suite of tools to help families manage safety, many parents are not taking advantage of them.

This creates a static layer of protection in an online world that is constantly changing. As children grow older, their interests shift toward new games and social interactions, while Roblox itself is continually updated with new content and features. Settings that once felt sufficient may quickly become outdated, leaving gaps in safety.

This discrepancy points to a gender divide in how parents manage digital safety. One possible reason is that fathers, who are more likely to be gamers themselves, may be more familiar with the risks of online platforms. The finding suggests that personal experience with gaming can influence how proactive parents are about safeguarding their child’s digital world.

The Millennial Blind Spot: Almost 1 in 5 Parents in This Generation Haven’t Learned About Roblox’s Safety Controls

Parental knowledge of Roblox’s safety tools is not evenly distributed across generations.

Millennial parents, who straddle the line between the pre-internet and digital-first eras, are digitally competent but not digital natives. This gap in familiarity suggests that many may be missing out on important tools designed to protect their children online. While their younger counterparts may be quicker to explore parental settings,  Millennial parents could be underestimating the risks, leaving their kids with fewer safeguards.

Summary

Ultimately, the line between a curated playground and an open digital city on Roblox comes down to a single, often-overlooked setting. The startling fact that nearly half of parents, a critical 47%, have not enabled the platform’s “Account Restrictions” means this digital gate is often left unlocked, potentially exposing millions of children to a wider, less predictable world of user-generated content than their parents assume.

The takeaway, therefore, is both clear and immediate: checking this one setting is the simplest and most powerful step any parent can take to ensure their child’s online world is as safe and protected as they believe it to be.

A Case for Women is dedicated to educating parents about the potential risks of using the Roblox. For more information about lawsuits against the platform, please visit our Roblox sexual abuse lawsuit page.

Methodology

To understand how Americans approach online safety for children using Roblox, we surveyed 1,000 parents across the United States who have at least one child who plays Roblox. Participants answered a series of questions about their use of Roblox’s parental controls, their confidence in the platform’s safety features, and their child’s experiences on the platform. Responses were analyzed by demographic groups, including gender and generation, to identify trends and disparities in how families manage Roblox safety settings.

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