Info Hub / For parents
Kids, games and apps: what parents need to know.
Games like Roblox and Fortnite and apps like Discord and Snapchat are where kids hang out now. They are also where people who exploit children look for them. You don’t need to ban everything. You need to know how it happens, what to turn on, and what to do if something goes wrong.
App settings checked November 1, 2026. Platforms change their rules often, so confirm in the app.
How it happens
Online grooming follows a pattern.
- 1Contact. Someone reaches out in a game, a group chat or a comment section. They may pretend to be the same age.
- 2Trust. Compliments, shared interests, help in the game, attention a child isn’t getting elsewhere.
- 3Gifts. Gift cards or other things of value create a sense of owing something back.
- 4Moving off-platform. They push to switch to a private or encrypted app, away from the game’s safety tools and away from parents.
- 5Secrets and images. They ask the child to keep the friendship secret, then ask for photos. Once they have one, threats and blackmail (sextortion) can follow fast.
Warning signs
Signs worth a conversation.
- A new online friend your child won’t talk about, or who seems older
- Gifts, gift cards, game currency or money from someone you don’t know
- New apps or accounts, or switching screens when you walk in
- Being online late at night or much more often than usual
- Sudden fear, withdrawal or distress after being online
- Talk of a “special” friend who understands them better than family
None of these proves anything on its own. They are reasons to ask, calmly.
App by app
The settings that matter most.
Set these up together with your child. Kids who understand why a setting is on are less likely to work around it.
Roblox
Age: No stated minimum age. Since June 2026, accounts are tiered by age: Roblox Kids (5–8), Roblox Select (9–15) and Roblox (16+).
The risk: Strangers who try to move kids to other apps, where Roblox’s protections no longer apply.
Turn on
- Link a parent account: on your child’s device, go to Settings > Parental Controls and enter your email.
- Under Settings You Manage, review Communication, Content Maturity, Private Servers and Spending restrictions.
- Chat now requires a facial age check, and age groups can only chat with nearby age groups. Children under 9 need a parent’s consent to chat.
- Set a monthly spending limit. It doesn’t cover gift cards, so watch for those.
Discord
Age: 13 and older, per Discord’s terms.
The risk: Direct messages from people your teen doesn’t know, often after meeting in a game or server.
Turn on
- Turn on Family Center: User Settings > Family Center, then link on mobile by scanning your teen’s QR code.
- You’ll see new friends, who they message and call, servers joined and purchases, but not message content.
- From Family Center you can tighten Friend Requests, Server Direct Messages, Message Requests and sensitive-content filters.
- Teen Safety Assist alerts teens to a first message from someone new and blurs sensitive images by default.
Snapchat
Age: 13 and older, per Snap’s terms.
The risk: Disappearing messages and contact from people your teen doesn’t actually know.
Turn on
- Turn on Family Center: Settings (gear icon) on the Profile page, or search “family.” Your teen must accept.
- See their friend list and who they’ve chatted with (not the messages), and limit sensitive content.
- Teens can only message mutual friends or saved contacts by default. Check that it stays that way.
- Location on Snap Map is off by default. Talk about keeping it off, or share location only as a family.
Age: Teen Accounts apply to ages 13–17.
The risk: Messages from strangers and pressure to share images.
Turn on
- Teen Accounts start private, with limits on who can message or tag them and a 13+ content setting.
- Teens 13–15 need a parent’s permission to loosen these settings.
- Set up Supervision through Meta’s Family Center to see who your teen has messaged in the past 7 days (not the messages) and approve changes.
TikTok
Age: 13 and older in the U.S.; younger users get a limited version.
The risk: Comments and messages from strangers, and constant time pressure.
Turn on
- Turn on Family Pairing from your phone and link to your teen’s account with a QR code.
- Use it to manage Direct Messages, comments, search, Restricted Mode and screen time.
- Accounts under 18 have a 60-minute daily screen-time limit by default.
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Age: No stated minimum. Younger players get a limited “Cabined Account” until a parent gives consent.
The risk: Voice and text chat with strangers, and in-game purchases.
Turn on
- Set controls in the Epic Account Portal, signed in as your child, or in-game from the sidebar.
- Check Epic Voice Chat Permission and Epic Text Chat Permission. They default to “Nobody” for players under 18.
- Turn on Require a PIN to Add Friends and Require a PIN for Epic Games Payments.
- Console chat has its own settings on Xbox, PlayStation or Switch.
Minecraft
Age: No stated minimum. Child accounts must be linked to an adult Microsoft account.
The risk: Multiplayer servers where kids can be contacted by people they don’t know.
Turn on
- Go to account.xbox.com/settings and select your child.
- Online Safety tab: control multiplayer, clubs and adding friends. Multiplayer is off by default for child accounts.
- Privacy tab: choose who can contact them by voice, text or invites.
The biggest risk on every platform is the same: someone asking to move the conversation to another app. Teach your child that this is the moment to tell you.
Sextortion
If someone is threatening your child.
Sextortion is when someone gets a sexual image of a child, then demands money or more images. NCMEC received more than 50,000 reports of financial sextortion in 2025. Teen boys ages 14 to 17 are targeted most often.
These schemes move fast and can push kids into crisis. If your child is in danger, call 911. If they are struggling emotionally, call or text 988.
What to do
- Don’t pay and don’t send anything more. Paying rarely stops the blackmail.
- Don’t delete the account or messages. Take screenshots and save usernames. That evidence matters.
- Block and report the account using the platform’s own reporting tool.
- Report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.
- Get images taken down. Take It Down is free and works without the image ever leaving your device.
- Tell your child it is not their fault. Stay calm. Shame is what the blackmailer is counting on.
Start the conversation
Questions to ask, not lectures to give.
The best protection is a child who will come to you. Ask with curiosity, and keep asking.
“What games or apps are you into right now? Can you show me how it works?”
“Has anyone online ever asked you to keep a secret or switch to a different app?”
“If someone online made you uncomfortable, what would you do?”
“If you ever got into a bad spot online, even if you broke a rule, you can tell me and we’ll fix it together.”
For schools and parent groups
Bring this training to your parents.
Tharros One runs prevention sessions for parents, schools and youth programs, in person or remote.
Sources
- NCMEC: Online enticement
- NCMEC: Sextortion
- NCMEC: New sextortion data for 2025 (June 2026)
- NCMEC: CyberTipline data
- FBI Detroit: Sextortion, a growing threat targeting minors (2024)
- Roblox: Age-based accounts (June 2026)
- Roblox: Age checks required to chat (January 2026)
- Roblox: Safety FAQs
- Discord: Family Center
- Snapchat: Teen safeguards
- Instagram: Teen Accounts
- TikTok: Guardian’s Guide
- Epic Games: Parental controls
- Minecraft: Parental controls
Tharros One is not affiliated with these platforms. Settings and menu names come from each company’s own pages and may change.