Starting in March, all Discord users will be switched to a "teen-appropriate experience" unless they can verify that they're an adult. The social platform is implementing age verification protocols that may ask users for facial scans or identification documents, a policy tested in the United Kingdom and Australia beginning last year.
A press release from Discord explains that the age verification process may be required to "change certain settings or access sensitive content," including "age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests." The global rollout of this protocol will arrive months after a hack affected millions of Discord users and exposed age verification-related data. Discord said that it partnered with a different third-party vendor for age verification after the data breach.
On Discord's end, the company promises that its "age assurance" approaches will protect user privacy, saying that video selfies, which AI will use to estimate a user's age, will never leave their device, and that any identity documents users submit will be deleted immediately after their age is confirmed.
Discord also stated that the platform's "age inference model" runs in the background and can determine a user's age without verification, utilizing metadata such as games that users play and other behavioral patterns. Some people may be required to use multiple age verification methods "if more information is needed to assign an age group," though it is unclear what kind of cases will prompt this.
Despite Discord's pledge for data privacy, it's hard not to blame anyone for being skeptical of the company--or any major tech company, for that matter--to safely and responsibly use the data it obtains from users. Addressing the reality that users may want to depart the platform in response to these new policies, Discord said to The Verge that the company will "find other ways" to bring them back.
When these age verification policies rolled out in the UK, some tricked the platform's facial scans using Death Stranding 2's photo mode. Discord told The Verge that the workaround was quickly fixed, but the company expects users will try other creative workarounds.
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A press release from Discord explains that the age verification process may be required to "change certain settings or access sensitive content," including "age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests." The global rollout of this protocol will arrive months after a hack affected millions of Discord users and exposed age verification-related data. Discord said that it partnered with a different third-party vendor for age verification after the data breach.
Discord will soon be expanding teen safety protections worldwide including teen-by-default settings and age assurance designed to create safer experiences for teens.
We’re also launching recruitment for Discord's first Teen Council, creating a space for teen voices to help shape… pic.twitter.com/CW7G4sO38R
— Discord Support (@discord_support) February 9, 2026copy
On Discord's end, the company promises that its "age assurance" approaches will protect user privacy, saying that video selfies, which AI will use to estimate a user's age, will never leave their device, and that any identity documents users submit will be deleted immediately after their age is confirmed.
Discord also stated that the platform's "age inference model" runs in the background and can determine a user's age without verification, utilizing metadata such as games that users play and other behavioral patterns. Some people may be required to use multiple age verification methods "if more information is needed to assign an age group," though it is unclear what kind of cases will prompt this.
Despite Discord's pledge for data privacy, it's hard not to blame anyone for being skeptical of the company--or any major tech company, for that matter--to safely and responsibly use the data it obtains from users. Addressing the reality that users may want to depart the platform in response to these new policies, Discord said to The Verge that the company will "find other ways" to bring them back.
When these age verification policies rolled out in the UK, some tricked the platform's facial scans using Death Stranding 2's photo mode. Discord told The Verge that the workaround was quickly fixed, but the company expects users will try other creative workarounds.
Source