Summary
- The latest security feature from Xbox allows gamers to capture and report inappropriate voice activity in any multiplayer game with in-game voice chat on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
- Players who experience or observe inappropriate verbal behavior can “catch now, report later” to minimize the impact on their gameplay.
- Xbox’s player reporting and evidence features now cover all content, including text, image, video and voice, further aiding in player security.
- The voice reporting feature will initially be available to Xbox Insiders to gather feedback from the community.
Gamers come to Xbox to make friends, compete and experience incredible games – and they expect to be treated fairly and that the interaction be free of hate or harassment. Our investments in security have helped gamers feel more confident across text, video and images – and our new voice reporting experience is the latest addition to our robust suite of Family and online safety features.
Starting this week, we’re releasing a new platform-wide voice reporting feature for Alpha and Alpha Skip Xbox Insiders gives players the ability to capture and report inappropriate in-game voice chat. More specifically, this feature caters to Xbox Series players community standards and submit it as evidence to our Xbox security team for review. Specifically designed to support a wide range of in-game interactions between players, this feature works in thousands of games that offer in-game multiplayer voice chat, including backward compatible Xbox 360 titles.
Targeting in-game voice chat
As we tackled the next major step in our security innovation, our team focused on in-game chat, as this is often where players have the best opportunity to interact with players outside of their friend network. The availability of the feature on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One ensures that players will have this feature available in any in-game multiplayer chat.
The new reporting experience helps the Xbox security team with their enforcement process and provides more context to make decisions that strengthen our community standards. Evidence gathering enables each of us to actively support one another, report inappropriate incidents and ultimately provide better protection for all involved. We want players to feel comfortable stepping into a multiplayer chat and feel supported and welcome – and if they notice or observe inappropriate behavior, they can take action. We have also made sure that players and their data are protected and safe according to our policies Microsoft Privacy Policy.
With reactive voice reporting, Xbox continues to help gamers feel protected. Supporting gamers with easy-to-use tools helps foster a sense of togetherness while improving the health of the gaming community on Xbox. With measures like these, players can rest assured that they are in a safe and welcoming environment. — Stephen Balkam, CEO, Family Online Safety Institute
It was important to hear directly from our community about their unique experiences and what would help them feel protected and empowered on our platform. We consulted with a number of community members – including Xbox Ambassador – with different identities, backgrounds and cultures.
“Implementing voice moderation is a big step towards making the community safer on Xbox. I feel more confident knowing that Xbox has gone the extra mile to ensure we have a positive environment not just through text chat but through voice chat as well.”
SammieChaos, Xbox Ambassador
“Once again, Xbox leads the way when it comes to gaming experiences. By taking action to reduce toxicity, which is typically very difficult to track, gamers of all ages, genders and backgrounds can trust Xbox to have their back.”
Secret Asian 29, Xbox Ambassador
“As a woman on the internet, I often remain silent in online multiplayer to avoid abuse and harassment. I appreciate features like this that can help give people like me their voice back. No one should stop interacting with their teammates because they are afraid to speak up.”
CamicaziBoss, Xbox Ambassador
The reactive voice reporting feature will be available to console players in select English-speaking markets (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) through the Xbox Insiders program – and we encourage all players to provide feedback to help us improve this Feature. We are actively working to support more languages while continuing to invest in language moderation.
How it works
Reactive voice reporting on Xbox is designed to be quick and easy to use, with minimal impact on gameplay. The feature is designed so that players can quickly capture recordings, re-engage in their gameplay, and finish the report when the game is over.
Players are in full control – they decide what to capture and report. Our feature is designed so that only you, the player, can initiate the collection of the last 60 seconds of game activity for content moderation purposes. While this feature works similarly to recording a game video, any clips recorded using the voice moderation feature are for content moderation purposes only – they will not appear in your recent recordings and clips cannot be downloaded, modified or shared. Only you have access to the clip until you submit it with your report. Xbox will not save or upload voice clips without you as a player starting the reporting process.
The clip stays online on your console for 24 hours, giving you the flexibility to either submit it immediately or wait until you’re ready. We’ll also send you a report reminder if you haven’t completed an online exam within the 24-hour period. If you choose not to report, the clip will be automatically deleted from your console. We’ve also updated our notification features so that the player who submitted the report will receive a notification whether or not Xbox has taken any action on the submitted report.
The importance of an active alliance
Each of us has an important role to play in our community — and I ask everyone, from seasoned competitors to first-time players, to stand up for one another, be active allies, and report any experiences of toxicity. The improvements we’re making to reactive voice moderation benefit everyone—those experiencing toxicity and those observing them. We cannot be spectators of bad behavior; We must do the right thing, have empathy for our fellow players and build a safer and more inclusive community together.
Our job is never done and we will continue to innovate and improve our community security measures to protect each other and our community at large. This feature is one of many we’re working on, the first in our voice moderation work, and we look forward to sharing more in the future. When players use the feature, we share data and updates in our semi-annual transparency report. If even one player feels safer with this measure, then we are on the right track.
In the meantime, here are some helpful security resources:
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