What is Roblox ‘Adopt Me’ and is it safe?

What is Roblox ‘Adopt Me’ and is it safe?

Adopt Me is an individual game within Roblox’s collection. Adopt Me centres around designing a home, within which players will care for pets and befriend other users. The game can be played with no additional in-game purchases, but many children may feel obligated to make purchases because of an in-game emphasis on collecting increasingly rare pets. 

Potential Roblox warnings for parents revolve around the ‘rare pet’ feature. In order to earn the rarest pets, users must play Adopt Me for a significant amount of time. Adopt Me rewards users who play regularly by allowing them to access desirably rare pets, this could encourage excessive use of the game. 

Additionally, players have the option of trading pets, which is how many users access the rarest pets. Many users sell rare pets on external sites, which exposes children to the risk of scamming in Adopt Me. Rare pets are desirable, leading scammers and even groomers to capitalize on the desirability of some in-game features. In addition to monetary scams, many children have also been victims of scams where other players will ‘pet sit’ or ‘clone’ a child’s pet, leaving them vulnerable to losing the pets they have earned or potentially paid for. 

While Adopt Me can be engaging and fun, parents should remind children to be aware, and mention anything they're unsure about to a trusted adult.