Roblox Replaces “Friends” with “Connections”: A Deep Dive into the Platform’s Controversial Social Overhaul

In a significant and widely discussed move, the global gaming phenomenon Roblox is officially rebranding its iconic “Friends” system to “Connections.”[1][2][3] Announced in mid-2025, this change is not merely cosmetic. It arrives as the centerpiece of a comprehensive overhaul of the platform’s social and safety features, introducing a new tiered system of interaction, most notably the “Trusted Connections” feature for age-verified users.[1][4] While Roblox positions the update as a forward-thinking step towards a safer and more versatile social environment, it has ignited a firestorm of debate within its massive community, with many players mourning the loss of a familiar term and questioning the platform’s evolving identity.

This article provides a comprehensive breakdown of the shift from “Friends” to “Connections,” exploring the mechanics of the new “Trusted Connections” feature, the intricate age verification system it relies on, Roblox’s official rationale, and the powerful, often critical, reaction from its global user base.

What is Changing? From “Friends” to “Connections”

For years, the “friend request” has been a fundamental part of the Roblox experience, a simple gateway to playing, chatting, and collaborating with others. Now, this is being replaced by a “connection request.”[5][6] According to Roblox, the new terminology is intended to more accurately reflect the wide spectrum of interactions that occur on the platform.[3][7] The company argues that not every link-up is a deep friendship; users often team up for a single game, collaborate on a project, or join large communities. The term “Connections,” they propose, better encompasses this broad range of social engagements.[3]

The change is being implemented across the platform’s interface, from user profiles to notifications. This linguistic shift is at the heart of Roblox’s effort to, as they see it, create clearer boundaries and foster more respectful exchanges.[3] However, for a user base accustomed to the warmth and simplicity of “Friends,” the new term has been jarring, feeling more appropriate for a business networking site than a creative gaming universe.[6]

The New Tier of Interaction: Introducing “Trusted Connections”

Beyond the surface-level name change, the more substantial update is the introduction of “Trusted Connections.”[2][7][8] This new, elevated tier of relationship is designed to allow for more organic and less restricted communication between users who have a confirmed level of trust.

What Are “Trusted Connections”?

“Trusted Connections” is an optional feature available to eligible users aged 13 and older who verify their age.[1][4][7] The primary benefit of establishing a “Trusted Connection” with another user is the ability to communicate in Party voice and text chats with fewer filters.[3][9][10][11][12] Roblox’s chat filters have long been a point of contention for older users who find their conversations unnecessarily censored.

By offering a less-filtered environment for trusted peers, Roblox aims to solve a significant safety challenge: users, particularly teens, leaving the platform to communicate on less-moderated, third-party apps like Discord, where they could be exposed to greater risks.[4][10][13] The goal is to keep these conversations on-platform, where Roblox can still provide a baseline of safety monitoring.[13]

Who is Eligible? The Crucial Role of Age Verification

Access to “Trusted Connections” is strictly gated by a new, robust age verification process.[9] Users must be confirmed as 13 years of age or older to utilize the feature.[7] To achieve this, Roblox has rolled out two primary methods:

1. AI-Powered Age Estimation: The newest and most talked-about method involves users taking a short “video selfie.”[1][10][14] This video is then analyzed by an AI system from a third-party vendor, Persona, which estimates the user’s age by comparing their facial characteristics against a vast dataset.[8][10][15] Roblox has stated that it does not receive raw identification data from this process and that Persona deletes the data within 30 days.[15] If the system cannot determine a user’s age with high confidence, their age will remain unconfirmed.[12]

2. Government-Issued ID: As an alternative, users can verify their age by submitting a photo of a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport.[9][16] This has been an option on the platform for some time for accessing other age-restricted features.

Roblox has also indicated that verified parental consent will be introduced as a future verification method, which may help address concerns about younger teens who may not have access to a government-issued ID.[9][10][17]

A Focus on Teen Safety: How “Trusted Connections” Works Across Age Groups

Recognizing the sensitivities around interactions between different age groups, Roblox has implemented specific safeguards for “Trusted Connections,” particularly between teenagers and adults.[4][7][17]

The rules are designed to ensure that connections between teens (ages 13-17) and adults (18 and over) are based on pre-existing, real-life relationships. For a teen to add an adult as a “Trusted Connection,” the invitation must be facilitated through one of the following methods:

• QR Code Scan: This requires an in-person interaction where one user scans the other’s unique Roblox QR code.[10][18][19]

• Contact Importer: Users can connect by syncing their phone’s contact list with Roblox, linking them with people whose phone numbers they already have.[2][18][20]

These measures are intended to prevent teens from forming unfiltered chat connections with adults they meet randomly on the platform.[12] Furthermore, Roblox emphasizes that even within “Trusted Connections,” all conversations remain subject to proactive monitoring for critical safety violations, such as discussions related to grooming or other harmful behavior.[1][7][10]

“Corporate and Soulless”: The Roblox Community Reacts

Despite Roblox’s focus on safety and functionality, the community’s response to the renaming of “Friends” has been overwhelmingly negative.[21][22] Across TikTok, YouTube, and the Roblox Developer Forum, players have decried the change as unnecessary, cold, and out of touch.

The “LinkedIn-ification” of Roblox

The most prevalent criticism is that the term “Connections” is “corporate” and “impersonal.”[5][6] Players have relentlessly joked that Roblox is turning into LinkedIn, the professional networking platform, and that they will now have to send “networking requests” instead of friend requests.[5] Many users, particularly long-time players, feel the change strips away the platform’s playful and social nature, replacing it with a sterile, business-like vocabulary that feels alien to a space designed for fun and creativity.[6] The sentiment is that while the functionality may have a purpose, the chosen terminology fundamentally misunderstands why people use Roblox: to make friends, not “connections.”

A History of Depersonalization?

For some veteran players, this move is part of a larger, worrying trend. They recall the removal of the “Best Friends” feature in 2015, which allowed users to have a smaller, more intimate circle of friends.[6] The shift to “Connections” is seen by these users as another step away from fostering personal relationships and toward a sanitized, one-size-fits-all social model. The passionate backlash suggests a significant disconnect between the company’s vision of a “metaverse” and the community’s desire for a simple, fun, and personal gaming platform.[6]

Beyond the Name Change: A Wider Push for Safety and Parental Controls

It is crucial to view the “Connections” update not in isolation, but as part of a much broader and ongoing push by Roblox to enhance safety and provide more robust parental controls.[8][17][23][24] In recent months, the company has rolled out a suite of tools giving parents and caregivers more oversight.[25][26][27]

These new features include:

• Remote Parental Controls: Parents can now link their own Roblox account to their child’s to manage settings from their own device.[26][27]

• Activity Monitoring: Linked parent accounts can view their child’s connections list, screen time statistics, and spending on Robux.[2][25][28]

• Enhanced Blocking: Parents can now block specific users and even entire experiences they deem inappropriate for their child.[24][25]

• Teen-Focused Tools: Recognizing that teens desire more autonomy, Roblox has also introduced tools for them to manage their own digital well-being, including a “Do Not Disturb” mode and controls over who can see their online status.[2][8][9]

These extensive updates demonstrate a clear commitment from Roblox to address long-standing safety concerns, especially regarding its younger audience.[10][23][26]

Conclusion: A Platform at a Crossroads

The transition from “Friends” to “Connections” marks a pivotal moment for Roblox. On one hand, the change is interwoven with a sophisticated and arguably necessary evolution of the platform’s safety features, introducing granular controls and a novel, less-filtered chat system for verified older users. The “Trusted Connections” feature and its reliance on age verification represent a serious attempt to keep teens safer by keeping their conversations on-platform.

On the other hand, the purely semantic shift from a universally understood term of endearment to a cold, corporate-sounding one has alienated a significant portion of the user base. It highlights the fundamental challenge Roblox faces as it matures: how to balance the complex responsibilities of a massive, publicly-traded company aiming to build a global metaverse with the simple, user-centric desires of a community that just wants to play games and hang out with their friends. The future of Roblox’s social ecosystem will depend on its ability to navigate this delicate tightrope—innovating for safety and scale without losing the heart and soul that its millions of players fell in love with.