Is Roblox Safe for Kids? Or Maybe Momio Can Be the Answer
- Aug 10
- 3 min read
Roblox is one of the most-played games among kids under 13 in Europe — and one of the most scrutinized. In January 2026, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) opened a formal investigation into Roblox under the EU's Digital Services Act, citing risks including grooming, exposure to explicit content, and manipulative spending patterns aimed at minors. It's part of a wider pattern: in the US, Nevada reached a $12 million settlement with Roblox over safety failures, and Arkansas's Attorney General sued both Roblox and Discord, alleging the platforms let predators operate with too little friction. So it's a fair question: is Roblox safe for kids, and if not, what's the alternative?
Is Roblox Safe for Kids? What the Lawsuits Reveal
The pattern regulators and investigators keep flagging isn't one bad actor — it's structural. The ACM's probe focuses on whether Roblox does enough to shield minors from grooming and harmful content, and could result in a binding instruction or fine if it finds the platform in breach of EU rules. In the US, legal filings tracking similar cases describe predators making first contact with a child inside Roblox, then moving the conversation to Discord, where messaging is harder for parents to see — a "grooming pipeline" between apps that were never designed with young children in mind.
Roblox has responded. Since late 2025 it's added parent-linked accounts, restricted direct messages for under-13 users, and introduced content maturity ratings. Discord began rolling out age verification in March 2026. These are real improvements — but they're patches on a platform built for an open, all-ages internet, not a space designed from the ground up for young kids.
Why Open-Chat Platforms Are Hard to Make Safe
The core issue is scale and openness. Roblox hosts millions of user-created games and, by extension, millions of stranger interactions every day. Voice and text chat exist to help players coordinate — great when the "friend" is really a classmate, risky when it's an adult using a fake profile. No amount of after-the-fact moderation fully closes that gap when the platform's whole design depends on open connection between strangers.
A Different Question: What Does My Child Actually Need?
Instead of asking whether Roblox — a general-purpose platform never built specifically for kids — is safe, it's worth asking a narrower question: what does my 7-to-13-year-old actually want from an app like this? Usually the answer is simple: to play, create, and feel connected to friends. That doesn't require open chat with strangers. It just requires a platform built for that age group from day one.
Momio: Built for Kids, Not Retrofitted for Them

That's the gap Momio was built to fill. A few structural differences matter here:
Avatar, not photo. Kids design a character instead of uploading real photos, so there's nothing identifying to share in the first place — here's why that one design choice matters.
Moderated chat, no open stranger contact. Conversations are monitored, unlike the open DMs at the center of the Roblox-to-Discord pattern.
A nightly close. Momio shuts down from midnight to 5am, removing the overnight window where risky contact is most common — part of the healthy digital habits built into the app.
One account, one owner. Shared logins are a common way accounts get compromised — here's why that matters.
For a fuller picture of what a session actually looks like, see a day on Momio.
Roblox vs. Momio, at a Glance
Roblox | Momio | |
Designed for | All ages, open platform | Kids 7–13 specifically |
Identity | Optional photo/username | Avatar only, no real photos |
Chat | Open text/voice, partial DM limits | Moderated, no stranger DMs |
Availability | 24/7 | Closes midnight–5am |
So, Is Roblox Safe for Kids?
It depends on your child's age, how closely you can monitor their account, and how much weight you put on the platform's own admission that these are ongoing risks it's still patching. For parents of younger kids especially, a platform built for their age group from the start — rather than one retrofitted with safety features after lawsuits forced the issue — is often the simpler answer. See how Momio compares to the apps your kids are already asking for, or try it yourself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources
ACM launches investigation into Roblox in connection with risks that minors are facing — Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets
Netherlands watchdog probing Roblox over risks to children — Al Jazeera
Roblox & Discord Child Grooming Lawsuits 2026 — MDL 3166 — OpenClassActions



