Roblox reveaed today that it’s rolling out a new feature called “real-time chat rephrasing.” This will translate text with profanity into more respectful language while still sounding naturalistic — and while also avoiding “#####” censoring.
This new feature rephrases chat messages that contain words or phrases in violation of Roblox’s Community Standards. This can include removing the offensive word or phrase or switching it for a more palatable option. According to the feature’s developers, this helps users see what is and is not allowed while also keeping others safe.
Rajiv Bhatia, Roblox’s VP of user and discovery, and Matt Kaufman, Chief Safety Officer, said in an announcement post that “#####” is a conversational dead end and can make communication difficult. “Imagine someone trying to tell their friend that there’s a monster behind them and typing something like ‘“’Watch out! There’s a fkng monster on your ahhh!’ to warn them. The friend only sees ‘###########.’ That’s not very helpful.”
Bhatia and Kaufman said this feature was developed in consultation with its Teen Council, with member Jordyn noting, “By switching to rephrasing, it allows a middle ground between player requests and necessary safety standards.”