No, Roblox users can't see others' locations through 'biometric tracking' | Fact check

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Roblox uses 'biometric location tracking' that reveals user location

A Dec. 28, 2023, Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims a popular video game platform has a serious privacy issue.

“FYI, if your child plays Roblox, please know that there is a biometric location tracking under the privacy settings that allows ‘friends’ to see where you live,” reads the post's caption, which describes a purported interaction on the platform and urges parents to check their children's privacy settings.

The post was shared more than 300,000 times in less than two weeks. Other versions of the claim received thousands of additional interactions on Facebook and Instagram.

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Our rating: False

Roblox said it does not collect precise location information from users and that any such information posted in chat rooms or public forums on the site is filtered and removed. The post also muddles the applicable terminology, as experts note biometric data is not related to location.

Biometric data collected for verification, not tracking

Roblox does not collect exact location data, said Roblox spokesperson Roman Skuratovskiy. Instead, it collects location data at the country or region level.

Skuratovskiy echoed the platform’s privacy policy in saying chat rooms and other public forums on Roblox are filtered to “prevent inappropriate content and personally identifiable information – such as a precise location/address – from being visible on the site.” Both human and automated filtering is used to remove the content, though the policy says it is similar to all filtering systems in that they "aren't 100% effective."

He said there is no way for users to enter their home address on the site outside of billing information or chat rooms. He also said there is no way for users to opt in to share that information with others outside of a chat.

Brevard County resident Anthony Russo is a YouTuber who has millions of followers with Roblox, an online gaming platform and virtual game creation system.
Brevard County resident Anthony Russo is a YouTuber who has millions of followers with Roblox, an online gaming platform and virtual game creation system.

The post mentions biometrics, which refers to "unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, that can be used for automated recognition," according to the Department of Homeland Security.

But this is separate from physical location tracking, said Masooda Bashir, an associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Roblox states on its website that it collects and uses a type of biometric data known as "face geometry" to "assist with our identity and age verification process." But this has nothing to do with physical location.

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Though exact location data may not be collected or shared by the company, Bashir said other information users opt to share with Roblox (or any other platform), such as biometric data and general location data, can pose a privacy risk.

“Hackers can use this kind of information and gather up additional sources and additional information to identify people,” Bashir said. “This is one of the main vulnerabilities.”

Information users share with strangers in a chat room can make them vulnerable, said Lorrie Cranor, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab and a professor with expertise in security and privacy. She pointed to examples of extremist groups using such spaces to radicalize young people.

That’s why both Cranor and Bashir said it’s important for parents to check the privacy settings on their children's accounts and talk to them about the importance of not sharing personal information with strangers.

“Our kids as young as 5 or 7 years old are online,” Bashir said. “They need to understand the online world can be a fun place, an innovative place, but it can also be a dangerous place because there are malicious users. They need to be wary of that and educated about that.”

USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Roblox uses 'biometric location tracking' | Fact check