Sydney  –   Gaming giant Roblox Corp says it will roll out compulsory facial recognition or ID checks from next month for players wanting to access its chat features. It aims to stop under-nines from chatting without parental consent and to curb conversations between adults and minors online by placing users into six age bands ranging from under-nines to over 21s. The requirement for joining chats will launch in the first week of December in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands before expanding globally in early January, it said. “Roblox is the first online gaming or communication platform to require facial age checks to access chat, establishing what we believe will become a new industry standard,” the California-based company said in a statement released Tuesday.

The new system will require users to take a photo of their face or use identification to verify their age.

All players can undergo age checks now on a voluntary basis before it becomes a requirement, said Roblox, which is hugely popular with young players.

Facial age estimations will be conducted by ID verification company Persona on the Roblox app, with images and video to be deleted “immediately” after processing.

“Age checks are completely optional; however, features like chat will not be accessible unless the age check is complete,” said Roblox, whose platform allows players to create their own online gaming worlds.