This year marks a turning point for age verification on major platforms like Roblox and Discord, rolling out new systems they claim are made to improve user safety. 

Roblox started implementing its age verification feature in November 2025, with full rollout reaching users by January 2026. The system relies on third party facial recognition technology to estimate a user’s age based on appearance. I was able to see the feature in December when playing with family members. One of them got hit with the face ID despite playing since 2016 and being over 21. 

While this may seem like a good thing to ensure safety of children on the platform due to its high volume of harassment and grooming on the game for years, the age verification, in theory, could tackle these issues. 

In practice, the rollout did not go as planed, and exposed significant flaws. Many users report being put into incorrect age groups, raising concerns about the reliability of the software. 

In response, some users started selling accounts to people of certain age estimates. This created a black market in which accounts are sold to both children and adults to place them into specific age categories. Other users have claimed they have bypassed the system by using other images than their face and getting put in older age groups. 

Meanwhile, Discord has also introduced an age verification feature on their platform. Discord has slowly been rolling out the verification, not fully implementing it yet. Discord has also faced criticism for its predatory behaviors on its platform in their loosely moderated spaces. 

Both Roblox and Discord have emphasized their commitment to safety, implementing these tools to protect the large number of minors on their platform. Despite their intentions, discontent has been growing between the platforms and the users trust. 

Many users say these systems raise privacy and accuracy concerns and lack transparency. Critics also argue the platform has not addressed root causes of harm, allows predators to operate, and penalizes those who speak out. 

As age verification becomes the norm for digital platforms, the major question remains, are these measures really making these platforms safer, or is it all smoke and mirrors?