Roblox is testing age group aware chat indicators in Experience Chat

Roblox players started seeing something strange in their game chats today. A lock icon followed by dots keeps appearing where chat messages should be, and nobody can figure out who’s sending them or what they’re saying.

The mystery feature is actually part of a new test Roblox announced on its developer forum earlier today. The platform is rolling out “chat activity indicators” that show when messages are being sent but hidden due to age restrictions. This happens when someone hasn’t completed their required age check or when players from different age groups are chatting in the same server.

Roblox says the goal is keeping Experience Chat feeling active even when you can’t see all the messages. The company believes showing that chat activity exists will encourage more people to verify their age and get access to full messaging.

For players who already completed age verification, the indicators are meant to provide “community energy and context” about what’s happening in the game.

The timing makes sense given Roblox’s recent push on age verification. The platform made age checks mandatory globally in early January 2026 for anyone wanting to use chat features. Players now get sorted into six age brackets ranging from under 9 to 21 and older, and can only message others in similar groups.

But players aren’t happy with the execution. Reddit users called it confusing and spammy, with one person saying it “just clogs chat up” since you can’t see who’s talking or what they’re saying. Several comments on X share that frustration, calling the locked messages “useless spam” and questioning why Roblox didn’t just add a small indicator next to usernames instead.

Roblox confirmed the indicators are lightweight and won’t hurt game performance. Developers can’t disable or customize them during this test phase, though the company says it will gather feedback and refine the feature based on results. The indicators don’t change how chat gets logged or how moderation tools work either.

This is the latest change to Roblox’s interface following the platform’s announcement to switch to dynamic heads and the removal of classic faces a couple of days ago. Earlier today, Roblox also revealed that it has started automatically scanning avatars for moderation before they can be worn in games. The platform continues tweaking its matchmaking system to place age verified users together more often so these activity indicators appear less frequently over time.

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