Discord will start requiring a face scan or ID to access content

The company said the new measures are aimed at improving safety and ensuring the environment remains suitable for teenagers by default. Previously, in the UK and Australia, the service has already requested age confirmation from some users as part of local Internet safety laws. From the beginning of March, such verification will be available worldwide.

The company explained that the new default settings will limit what content users can see and how they can interact with each other. Access to communities with age restrictions and to materials marked as confidential will only be available to those who confirm their majority age without blurring. In addition, users will not be able to view private messages from strangers unless they pass age verification in Discord.

On February 8, the company said it would use “inference” tools to determine age to assess whether a user is likely to be an adult. According to Discord representative Savannah Badalich, most adults will not have to undergo additional verification: the system will take into account account data – for example, its lifespan, device and activity information, as well as general behavioral patterns in communities. However, the company emphasized that personal messages and their contents are not analyzed in this process.

Users will be offered two ways to confirm age: upload a photo of an identity document, or record a video selfie, from which the AI ​​system will estimate the approximate age based on facial features. Discord assured that the data used for verification will not be stored either by the platform itself or by the contractor involved in verification. The company emphasized that a full “face scan” does not occur, and uploaded documents are deleted immediately after the procedure is completed.

In October, the service already faced criticism after reports of the possible leak of official photos of approximately 70 thousand users as a result of hacking of a partner company that helped with age verification. The announcement of the new measures comes amid reports in January that Discord plans to go public with a stock offering.

By making these changes, as well as creating a teen advisory council, Discord is following in the footsteps of other major platforms—like Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and Roblox—that are also strengthening their protections for minors.