Popular children’s game and creation platform Roblox is updating its parental controls after international alarm rose concerning the safety of children using its system.

In a ‘major update’ by the company, Roblox will no longer enable users under the age of 13 to directly message others on Roblox outside of specific games or experiences.

Those under the age of 13 using the platform will not be able to directly and privately message others, and will only be able to send messages that are broadcast publicly within games played on the platform.

Existing parental controls will also be expanded, allowing parents to monitor their children’s activity remotely more closely using their linked account, as well as providing controls to adjust their child’s screentime allowances, view friends lists, and set limits for playing.

To help parents make more informed decisions when it comes to the content their child can access, Roblox created simplified content labels to describe games.

Labelling games based on age recommendations has been replaced with different content labels that better describe the level of mature themes involved, including violence, fear, humour, and strong language, to minimal, mild, moderate, and restricted.

By default, Roblox will not allow users under the age of nine to access minimal and mild-rated experiences, and will block users under 13 from searching or playing any experience that has yet to be reviewed and labelled.

Restricted content will remain as such until a user is at least 17 and has verified their age with Roblox.

Recently, Roblox was accused of lacking enough safety measures to keep kids safe across its platform my US investment firm Hindenburg Research.

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Child safety advocacy groups urged Ofcom to take action after the firm claimed Roblox was an “X-rated paedophile hellscape.”

Around 20% of Roblox users are under the age of 9, with the majority under 16 years old. The nature of the Roblox game – its user-created games and chatrooms allowing people to socialise – made it rise in popularity, but also creates a mindfield for parents trying to regulate the content their child can access.

“These updates should provide parents greater clarity to make informed decisions about what is appropriate for their child,” Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, assured.