Roblox has been pushing out features that require phone numbers, like voice chat and now simple actions like joining groups (Source: RTC)
Not only is this not ideal for my privacy, this is not very great from a security standpoint. I do not trust Persona with my PII and I do not want my phone number attached to roblox in any way.
Phone numbers are insecure and were never meant for verification or proving ownership. Phone numbers can still be SIM swapped in the grand year of 2024, and Roblox seems to be taking a step back in security despite adding features I use like Yubico security key support and authenticator support. As a person who has owned some of the most expensive limited collectibles on the platform, some valued at 6 figures in the black market, my security is my top concern. Adding a phone number to my account is the last thing I would want.
It’s worth noting that you can use Voice Chat with just ID verification however I dont trust the third party vendor (Persona) with my information
It’s simple - pleaaasee dont force us to phone numbers for verification.
Seriously??? Have we come to the point they have to gatekeep SENDING FRIEND REQUESTS AND JOINING COMMUNITIES to phone number verification???
I hope they’ll reconsider this, since I’m not going to bother making my account more “”““secure””“” using phone number.
Please, reconsider and stop forcing this upon us.
This, like the forced TextChatService migration and restricting of hangout games, are desperate measures to try and reduce the predatory behavior on Roblox. After the Turkey ban, Hindenburg report, and other unflattering news articles they are just throwing stuff at the wall hoping it works.
The idea behind this, I assume, is to limit the reach of predatory accounts and better track their alts. While it’s not impossible to get a disposable phone number, it makes it much harder to keep coming back.
Once again the ordinary users suffer from the actions of a malicious few. Roblox has neglected their moderation for years and now they’re scrambling to pick up the pieces. Similar to what happened with the audio update where we all lost a ton of audios thanks to Roblox having to scramble to address legal actions from copyright holders.
You are right that there are way better measures to handle account security, but this update isn’t for your security, it’s for theirs. It’s not to protect you, it’s to protect them.
i mean don’t get me wrong, i much prefer roblox actually trying to solve these issues now - even if a bit problematic, but i truly wish they had listened and controlled the whole situation before it got out of hand.
I find your post little too much dramatic. I mean a lot of Shopping websites and other stuff also use Persona, and you’re ordered to put your phone number in. And I think a lot of users have their phone number already in.
I don’t get the extreme worry regarding handing out anything to Roblox, there hasn’t been a leak outside of the Roblox Developer Conference, as many, many of the attendees had their information leaked on a database because of the handlers of the event, not Roblox.
I have friends who don’t have a phone number they can access due to financial issues; this locks all of those friends out from being able to do simple things. This is a stupid change and it would have been a lot easier to use captchas rather than this. People should not be forced to use phone numbers for multiple reasons.
Roblox should reconsider this as soon as possible. This will lock hundreds of thousands of accounts from accessing these features that have done absolutely nothing wrong. This is completely backwards thinking on Roblox’s part.
How else would you rather them cause bots to stop causing issues within community spaces? Roblox itself has an 80% population of mobile users, phone numbers don’t seem that bad when considering more than half of the players on Roblox have a phone number to access, even if it is unfortunate as I didn’t have a phone previously either.
Even then, if this phone number required to join groups thing actually releases (as it might not even), you should most likely create a separated feature request that explains a fully opposite side against requiring phone numbers for simple tasks such as joining groups, and instead supporting more bot detection using proper captchas, or all of the above.
On a good note, requiring a major part of the player-base to actually verify their number, it would greatly increase account security, as people falling for scams has become a bigger issue than it should among children these days on Roblox.
Some people don’t want to go through the hassle of having to activate it to join groups then deactivate it again, as most people don’t want to have to constantly check their email. What if you want to join more groups, have to enter a code each-time?
What if you are on mobile? close the app, install gmail, have to look for the email verification code, or have to take the time to look for the email every-time you want to join a group, this doesn’t sound effective.
Phone numbers are security, even if just a tiny bit, they would help you gain access to your account if the email you provided (if any) was inaccessible, as well as being able to send you an SMS code for a separate authentication that would send it straight to your clipboard.
If it wasn’t already clear enough, this post only applies to people who are not in the majority. 99% of people aren’t at risk of being sim swapped like I am. And most people have access to a phone number.
Phone numbers are not security by any means. All it takes is a call to my service provider and I’m compromised.
And also, is all you do on the devforum is argue with other people? Do you just like playing devil’s advocate? You were literally arguing with someone else 10 minutes ago.
I do think there are so many other ways to up security, even if it makes people have to do extra steps. That is the whole point of stopping bots. 2FA is more important than a password.
This stance of mine will not change. Phone numbers are not secure and you can even see this for yourself if you do a simple Google search
