Online gaming giant Roblox has just announced it will start checking users' ages from early December in an attempt to stop children and teenagers talking with adults.

Roblox is now rolling out facial age checks and age-based grouping for chat features on a voluntary basis ahead of it becoming mandatory in select markets next month.

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.