What is Roblox Connect?
What is Roblox Connect?
Connect is an experience on Roblox where you can call a friend and have a conversation as your avatars together in a shared immersive space. We’ve created some fun location options for you and your friends to enjoy. In addition, the technology that powers Connect is fully open-sourced to empower creators to build synchronous voice and avatar communication into any existing or new experience on Roblox.
Who can use Roblox Connect?
Users must be age 13+ and Roblox voice-enabled (i.e. be phone-verified or ID-verified). Users must also update to the latest version of Roblox in order to use Connect.
Which platforms will Roblox Connect be available on?
Roblox Connect will be available on both mobile (iOS and Android) and desktop at launch. Availability on other platforms is coming soon.
Will calling be available globally?
Calling is available wherever chat with voice is available and will roll out to more countries in the future.
Are there any restrictions on which experiences can utilize the APIs?
Only experiences that are more than a week old will be able to use our calling APIs.
How Does Roblox Connect Work for Creators?
How can creators incorporate the APIs in their experiences?
The Roblox Connect experience will be fully-open sourced, along with the calling APIs, that developers can enable to bring synchronous avatar communication into any experience on Roblox. There are three ways that developers can utilize the technology:
Incorporate communication within their experiences using the new calling APIs: SocialService and PlayerView. Creators will be able to integrate the phone book functionality and UX into their experience, enabling users to easily call their friends from any experience.
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Enable communication-first features, like SelfView, so users in experiences can see themselves in first person. In addition, there are three views that the calling APIs will enable:
PIP (Picture-in-Picture): When a user opens up Connect through a call or being called, we pop up the SelfView on your first time landing in PIP mode. The SelfView will appear in the bottom left corner. Once the user moves it, it will stick to that position from then on.
Free Play: Free Play is Roblox's stock default camera, third person view, that comes with every experience.
Cinematic: Cinematic Mode provides a dynamic camera. It adjusts the camera's position, direction, and field of view in real-time, focusing on two in-game subjects. It also accounts for factors like distance between subjects and screen aspect ratio, delivering a smooth and responsive player experience.
Take advantage of Roblox Connect’s environmental assets. Using the Environment Switcher, users will be able to access several locations during their calls in either a forest (at a campfire, dock, waterfall) or at an island (at a beach, cabana, or bonfire) and can teleport to these new locations during their call.
For more information please see the Roblox Connect Usage Guide.
Will the calling APIs also have sound assets?
All of Roblox Connect’s sound assets are available for developers to use.
With all the new communication styles (camera, voice), what will this do to the performance of my experience?
We’ve optimized and tested this feature among a variety of devices to minimize performance impact. For the majority of creators and users, we expect there to be little or no impact by enabling these features. To get started, consult the chat with voice Usage Guide and the Roblox Connect Usage Guide.
Does enabling calling in an experience automatically make it 13+?
No, adding calling into an experience doesn’t change its Experience Guidelines, but only eligible users within that experience (13+, phone or ID verified) will be able to use the calling features.
How Does Roblox Connect Work for Users?
What will I be able to do with Roblox Connect at launch?
You can call your friend, who is in your Roblox phone book. The call will ring their phone directly. They can then pick up and join you directly in Roblox Connect to start an immersive conversation – with your avatar, real expressions, and real voice.
Which platforms will Roblox Connect be available on?
Roblox Connect will be available on both mobile (iOS and Android) and desktop at launch. Availability on other platforms is coming soon.
Will I be able to call anyone even if they are not on Roblox?
No. Currently, you will only be able to call your friends who appear in your Roblox phone book.
If someone doesn't want to use their camera, can they still experience Roblox Connect?
Yes. They don’t have to use the camera to use Roblox Connect. They will still be able to make and receive calls and enter the experience, but there will not be any facial animation from their camera.
When will group calls be available?
We are working on this next!
How Does Safety in 1:1 Calling Work on Roblox Connect?
What precautions do we have in place to address spam calling, exploitation, or abuse?
There are several guardrails in place to protect all callers from undesired exposure. The system utilizes many tools to identify spam calls, including spam detection logic (limiting repeat calling frequency, call suppression), caller requirements, and experience protections.
What options does a user have when they experience bad behavior?
If a user does not want to receive a call or experiences bad behavior, they can block or remove a friend directly from their friend's list on Roblox. Users can also go to the Roblox menu, click on Report and have the option to identify a person to block.
Additionally, all communication experiences will still sit atop the existing and established voice moderation infrastructure, which users will be able to utilize to file abuse and safety reports on any bad behavior observed. For more information, see the chat with voice FAQs.
How can a user ensure their Do Not Disturb (DND) settings are in effect when receiving calls?
Note that as intended by iOS, it is still possible to receive repeated calls while in DND on iOS. To disable this, you may disallow repeated calls in your Focus Settings. Go to Settings > Focus, then choose a Focus—for example, Do Not Disturb, Personal, Sleep, or Work. You can also learn more here.
If you have an Android device and want to know what options you have for DND settings, you can learn more here.
What options does a user have to disable or not continue with a call?
Roblox Connect enables users to connect and communicate with their friends. In the meanwhile, if a user does not want to receive a call, they can remove a friend or block a contact directly from the phone book or from their friend's list on Roblox.
In addition, on Android, you can go to your notification settings for Roblox and they have the option to turn off call notifications.
How is user data kept safe during calls?
Developers will only be able to access the callee’s ID and certain call statuses. Roblox Connect is also powered by chat with voice and facial animation and utilizes the verification infrastructure that is already in place.
For more information, consult our Privacy Policy, Roblox Facial Animation Privacy Notice, and the chat with voice FAQ and the Roblox Connect Usage Guide.
Is any of the data stored on Roblox when users enable their camera?
No. When users use their camera to animate their avatar, animation keyframes created by this process are deleted in real-time after they have been used and cannot be shared. Video from their camera never leaves their device.
For more information, review Roblox’s Facial Animation Privacy Notice.
How about the voice conversations? Is Roblox storing those?
Roblox uses voice recordings for moderation purposes, including moderator evaluation of abuse reports, training and evaluating automatic safety detection systems, and measuring overall safety of the platform. See the Privacy Policy for more information.
Roblox does not share voice recordings with third parties or otherwise use voice recordings except as described above or in the Privacy Policy.
How are voice recordings stored?
The security of your information is important to us. We have measures in place to protect personal data against loss, misuse, or tampering. Recordings are encrypted and can be accessed only by limited internal teams.
For more information on our chat with voice, check out our voice FAQ.
All personal information, including voice recordings, can be removed through a privacy rights request (safety exceptions and jurisdictional requirements may apply).