Introduction
In response to growing concerns about child safety online, Roblox is implementing a new age-gated account system. This tutorial will teach you how to build a simple age verification system that mimics the core functionality of Roblox's approach. You'll learn how to create a basic age-checking system that can be expanded to include user tiers, content filtering, and chat restrictions.
This system will help you understand how age-based content control works, which is a key part of modern online safety measures.
Prerequisites
- A basic understanding of programming concepts
- Python installed on your computer
- A text editor (like VS Code or Sublime Text)
- Basic knowledge of how to create and run Python files
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Create a new Python file
First, create a new file called age_verification.py in your preferred text editor. This will be our main file for building the age verification system.
2. Set up the basic structure
We'll start by creating a simple function that takes a user's age and returns their appropriate account tier. This mimics how Roblox would categorize users.
# age_verification.py
def get_account_tier(age):
if age < 5:
return "Invalid age"
elif 5 <= age <= 8:
return "Kids"
elif 9 <= age <= 15:
return "Select"
elif age >= 16:
return "Standard"
else:
return "Invalid age"
# Test the function
print(get_account_tier(10)) # Should output "Select"
Why this step? This basic function sets up our core logic for categorizing users based on age, which is the foundation of Roblox's tiered system.
3. Add user input functionality
Next, we'll make our program interactive by allowing users to input their age and see their tier.
# age_verification.py
def get_account_tier(age):
if age < 5:
return "Invalid age"
elif 5 <= age <= 8:
return "Kids"
elif 9 <= age <= 15:
return "Select"
elif age >= 16:
return "Standard"
else:
return "Invalid age"
# Get user input
user_age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
# Display the appropriate tier
tier = get_account_tier(user_age)
print(f"Your account tier is: {tier}")
Why this step? This allows us to simulate how a real system would interact with users, just like Roblox's age verification process.
4. Create content access rules for each tier
Now we'll add rules for what content each tier can access. This simulates how Roblox restricts content based on age.
# age_verification.py
def get_account_tier(age):
if age < 5:
return "Invalid age"
elif 5 <= age <= 8:
return "Kids"
elif 9 <= age <= 15:
return "Select"
elif age >= 16:
return "Standard"
else:
return "Invalid age"
# Content access rules
content_access = {
"Kids": ["Simple games", "Educational content"],
"Select": ["Moderate games", "Chat with parents"],
"Standard": ["All games", "Full chat access", "Advanced features"]
}
# Get user input
user_age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
# Display the appropriate tier and content access
tier = get_account_tier(user_age)
print(f"Your account tier is: {tier}")
if tier in content_access:
print(f"Content available for {tier} tier:")
for item in content_access[tier]:
print(f" - {item}")
Why this step? This demonstrates how different age groups would have different levels of access to content, which is a key part of child safety measures.
5. Add chat restriction logic
Let's expand our system to include chat access restrictions, similar to what Roblox implements.
# age_verification.py
def get_account_tier(age):
if age < 5:
return "Invalid age"
elif 5 <= age <= 8:
return "Kids"
elif 9 <= age <= 15:
return "Select"
elif age >= 16:
return "Standard"
else:
return "Invalid age"
# Content access rules
content_access = {
"Kids": ["Simple games", "Educational content"],
"Select": ["Moderate games", "Chat with parents"],
"Standard": ["All games", "Full chat access", "Advanced features"]
}
# Chat access rules
chat_access = {
"Kids": False, # No chat access
"Select": True, # Limited chat access
"Standard": True # Full chat access
}
# Get user input
user_age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
# Display the appropriate tier and access information
tier = get_account_tier(user_age)
print(f"Your account tier is: {tier}")
if tier in content_access:
print(f"Content available for {tier} tier:")
for item in content_access[tier]:
print(f" - {item}")
print(f"Chat access: {'Allowed' if chat_access.get(tier, False) else 'Restricted'}")
Why this step? This shows how chat restrictions are implemented in age-gated systems, which is a major safety feature that Roblox is adding.
6. Test your complete system
Run your Python file and test with different ages to see how the system responds. Try entering ages like 7, 12, and 20 to see different results.
# Run the program
# python age_verification.py
# Sample outputs:
# Enter your age: 7
# Your account tier is: Kids
# Content available for Kids tier:
# - Simple games
# - Educational content
# Chat access: Restricted
# Enter your age: 14
# Your account tier is: Select
# Content available for Select tier:
# - Moderate games
# - Chat with parents
# Chat access: Allowed
Why this step? Testing helps you verify that your system works correctly and responds appropriately to different inputs.
Summary
In this tutorial, you've built a simplified version of Roblox's age-gated account system. You've learned how to:
- Create a function that categorizes users by age
- Implement content access rules based on age tiers
- Add chat access restrictions for different age groups
This basic system demonstrates the core concepts behind Roblox's new safety measures. While this is a simplified version, it shows how age verification systems work in practice and how they can be expanded to include more sophisticated features like facial recognition or parental controls.
Remember, this is just a learning exercise. Real age verification systems require much more robust security measures, parental consent handling, and compliance with privacy regulations.
