In a significant update to its platform policies, Discord announced on Monday that it will implement mandatory age verification for all users worldwide starting next month. Beginning in March, every Discord account will automatically switch to a "teen-appropriate" experience by default, restricting access to certain features unless users prove they are adults. This move aims to enhance child safety amid growing international pressure on online platforms to implement stronger age checks.
The changes will affect millions of users on the popular voice and text chat service, which boasts over 150 million monthly active users. According to Discord's global head of product policy, Savannah Badalich, the rollout is designed to create a safer environment without drastically altering the experience for most adults. "A majority of people are not going to see a change in their experience," Badalich told The Verge in an interview. She emphasized that the restrictions primarily target explicit or graphic content deemed inappropriate for teens.
Under the new system, unverified users—those defaulting to the teen setting—will face several limitations. They won't be able to join or participate in age-restricted servers and channels, a common feature for communities discussing mature topics like gaming mods or adult-oriented discussions. Access to Discord's "stage" channels, which function like livestreams for voice conversations, will also be blocked for unverified accounts. Additionally, content filters will automatically apply to any detected graphic or sensitive material, and friend requests from unfamiliar users will trigger warning prompts.
Direct messages and non-restricted servers will operate as usual, but even existing members of age-restricted servers will encounter obstacles. Badalich explained that such servers will appear as an "obfuscated" black screen until the user completes verification. "Users won't be able to send messages or view content in an age-restricted server until they complete the age check process, even if it's a server they were part of before," she said. New age-restricted servers will be inaccessible without verification altogether.
To opt out of the teen defaults and regain full access, users have two primary options: facial age estimation or submitting a government-issued ID. The facial estimation method involves a video selfie analyzed by AI directly on the user's device, ensuring the video never leaves the phone or computer. Discord claims this process estimates whether the user falls into a teen or adult age group without storing biometric data. If the estimate is incorrect, users can appeal or switch to ID verification.
For ID submission, photos of documents like driver's licenses or passports are sent to third-party vendors for confirmation. Discord assures users that these images are "deleted quickly—in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." Badalich stressed the company's commitment to privacy post a recent incident. In October, a data breach at one of Discord's former third-party vendors exposed age verification data, including ID images, affecting some users who had verified through that service. "We immediately stopped doing any sort of age verification flows with that vendor," Badalich said, noting the switch to a new provider.
Discord is not relying solely on these manual methods. The company is also deploying an age inference model that examines user metadata, such as the types of games played, activity patterns, and behavioral signals like login times during typical working hours or extended session lengths. "If we have a high confidence that they are an adult, they will not have a high confidence that they are an adult, they will not have to go through the other age verification flows," Badalich explained. This automated approach is expected to spare a significant portion of users from manual checks, particularly those with established adult-like behaviors on the platform.
This global rollout builds on Discord's prior experiments with age verification in select regions. Last year, the company introduced checks for users in the United Kingdom and Australia, complying with local regulations aimed at protecting minors online. However, some tech-savvy teens quickly found workarounds, including using the photo mode from the video game Death Stranding to fake adult appearances during scans. Badalich acknowledged the ingenuity, saying Discord "immediately fixed it after a week," but anticipates ongoing attempts to circumvent the system. "We expect users will continue finding creative ways to try getting around the age checks, and we will try to bug bash as much as we possibly can," she added.
The initiative comes amid a broader wave of age assurance measures across the tech industry, spurred by international legislation. In the European Union, the Digital Services Act mandates platforms to assess risks to minors and implement safeguards. Similarly, the UK's Online Safety Act requires verifiable age checks for services accessible to children. In the United States, states like California and New York have proposed bills targeting social media's impact on youth mental health, though federal efforts remain fragmented. Discord's move aligns with these trends, positioning the platform to avoid potential fines or bans in regulated markets.
Privacy concerns loom large for many users, particularly adults wary of sharing personal data. The October breach highlighted vulnerabilities in third-party handling of sensitive information, eroding trust for some. Badalich addressed these worries directly: "We're not doing biometric scanning or facial recognition. We're doing facial estimation. The ID is immediately deleted. We do not keep any information around like your name, the city that you live in, if you used a birth certificate or something else, any of that information." Despite these assurances, advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have long criticized mandatory age verification for potentially enabling surveillance or data misuse.
Discord anticipates some user backlash and potential churn. "We do expect that there will be some sort of hit there, and we are incorporating that into what our planning looks like," Badalich admitted. The company plans to mitigate losses through targeted outreach and improvements to the verification process, with "more options coming in the future." For now, the focus remains on balancing safety with usability, ensuring that the platform—popular among gamers, educators, and remote workers—remains accessible.
Reactions from the Discord community have been mixed, based on early forum discussions and social media chatter. Some parents and child safety advocates have praised the changes as a proactive step. "It's about time platforms like Discord took real responsibility for protecting kids," said one parent on Reddit, echoing sentiments from organizations like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Conversely, privacy-focused users and free speech proponents worry about overreach. A post on Twitter from a prominent tech commentator read, "Age verification sounds good, but at what cost to anonymity?"
Looking ahead, Discord's implementation could set a precedent for other messaging and gaming apps. Platforms like Roblox and Fortnite have faced similar scrutiny, with Roblox already experimenting with parental controls and content ratings. As regulators worldwide tighten rules—Australia's eSafety Commissioner recently fined social media companies for failing to remove child exploitation material—the pressure on tech firms to verify ages will only intensify. Discord's approach, blending AI inference with optional manual checks, may influence how competitors respond.
For users preparing for the March rollout, Discord recommends checking account settings in advance. The company plans a phased global launch, starting with English-speaking regions before expanding. While the teen-default setting activates automatically, verification remains voluntary for those willing to accept restrictions. Badalich concluded optimistically: "The addition of age assurance will mainly impact adult content... A majority of people on Discord are not necessarily looking at explicit or graphic content."
As Discord navigates this transition, the broader implications for online communities are clear: enhanced safety measures are here to stay, but they challenge the open, pseudonymous nature that has defined much of the internet. Whether this leads to a more secure digital space or drives users to less regulated alternatives remains to be seen.