Another day, another company moving toward Age-Verification. Discord announced on Monday that it will be rolling out age verification on its platform globally starting next month, when it will automatically set all users’ accounts to a “teen-appropriate” experience unless they demonstrate that they’re adults.
Beginning in early March, it will start as a phased global rollout to new and existing users, who may be required to engage in an age-verification process to change certain settings or access sensitive content. This includes age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests. Users took to social media and on their individual Discord Servers to voice their complaints and concern in the company’s unpopular move, given that in October 2025, over 70,000 Government Identification Cards were exposed in a Discord User Hack. The company issued a statement after the hacking incident, mentioning that they were working closely with law enforcement and the incident occurred after an unauthorized party compromised one of their third-party vendors.
“Nowhere is our safety work more important than when it comes to teen users, which is why we are announcing these updates in time for Safer Internet Day. Rolling out teen-by-default settings globally builds on Discord’s existing safety architecture, giving teens strong protections while allowing verified adults flexibility. We design our products with teen safety principles at the core and will continue working with safety experts, policymakers, and Discord users to support meaningful, long term wellbeing for teens on the platform.”
Savannah Badalich, Head of Product Policy at Discord
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While they claim to respect their Users privacy and choice, Discord users can choose to use facial age estimation or submit a form of identification to its vendor partners, with more options coming in the future. Their company will implement their age inference model, a new system that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without always requiring users to verify their age. Some users may be asked to use multiple methods if more information is needed to assign an age group. After completing a chosen method, users will receive confirmation via a direct message from Discord’s official account. A user’s assigned age group can also be viewed at any time in “My Account” settings. Users will be able to go to “My Account” settings to appeal their assigned age group by retrying the process. Discord prompts users to age-assure only within Discord and currently does not send emails or text messages about its age assurance process or results.
Privacy-Forward Age Assurance:
- On-device processing: Video selfies for facial age estimation never leave a user’s device.
- Quick deletion: Identity documents submitted to our vendor partners are deleted quickly— in most cases, immediately after age confirmation.
- Straightforward verification: In most cases, users complete the process once and their Discord experience adapts to their verified age group. Users may be asked to use multiple methods only when more information is needed to assign an age group.
- Private status: A user’s age verification status cannot be seen by other users.
Default Safety Settings:
- Content Filters: Discord users will need to be age-assured as adults in order to unblur sensitive content or turn off the setting.
- Age-gated Spaces – Only users who are age-assured as adults will be able to access age-restricted channels, servers, and app commands.
- Message Request Inbox: Direct messages from people a user may not know are routed to a separate inbox by default, and access to modify this setting is limited to age-assured adult users.
- Friend Request Alerts: People will receive warning prompts for friend requests from users they may not know.
- Stage Restrictions: Only age-assured adults may speak on stage in servers.
Discord rolled out the same process for the United Kingdom (United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act “OSA”) and Australia (Social Media Minimum Age Act) last year, the company launched a teen-by-default experience in the UK and Australia, and this global rollout builds on that approach to deliver consistent, age-appropriate protections worldwide.
The Discord Teen Council
To accompany the new changes, Discord announced it will begin recruitment for its inaugural Teen Council, a teen advisory body that brings authentic teen perspectives into how it shapes their experience. The council will consist of of 10-12 teens and will help ensure Discord understands – not assumes – what teens need, how they build meaningful connections, and what makes them feel safe and supported online. The company hopes by embedding diverse teen perspectives directly into decision-making, the Council will help ensure Discord’s safety features are protective while balancing teen privacy and autonomy. The Council’s input will inform future product features, policies, and educational resources, grounding Discord’s approach in how teens connect through gaming, shared interests, and online communities. Teens in the age bracket of 13-17 years old can apply to participate in the Teen Council at the link here from now until May 1, 2026.
Source: Press Release, NBC NEWS, DISCORD (1,2)
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