Discord Implements Age-Restricted Access to Enhance User Safety
In a significant move to bolster user safety, Discord has announced the global rollout of teen-by-default safety controls and an expanded age assurance system, set to commence in early March. This initiative aims to establish age-appropriate defaults for all users, allowing adults to access additional features upon confirming their age.
Previously, Discord introduced age assurance and teen-focused defaults in the UK and Australia to comply with regional regulations. The forthcoming global expansion underscores the platform’s commitment to creating a safer environment for its diverse user base.
Key Changes Effective March:
Starting next month, users will be prompted to verify their age group only when attempting to access specific age-restricted content, settings, or features. Once verified, users typically won’t need to undergo the process again for future age-restricted actions. This progressive gating approach ensures that general chat and community participation remain accessible without mandatory universal verification.
Age assurance prompts may appear when users attempt to:
– Unblur media flagged by Sensitive Content Filters or adjust filter settings to display sensitive content.
– Disable Message Requests, which are enabled by default to screen unknown direct messages.
– Access age-restricted channels and servers.
– Participate in Stage channels.
– Enable age-restricted app commands.
The teen-by-default approach establishes robust safety settings across accounts unless an account is confirmed as belonging to an adult. This security baseline is designed to reduce exposure to sensitive media, unsolicited direct messages, and higher-risk interaction surfaces, such as public speaking on Stages. Verified adults have the option to modify these defaults, whereas unverified users do not.
Default settings include content blurring and stricter controls over sensitive content, restrictions on access to age-gated spaces (including age-restricted commands), Message Requests routed to a separate inbox by default, warning prompts on friend requests from unfamiliar individuals, and Stage speaking limited to age-assured adults.
From a cybersecurity and trust-and-safety perspective, these settings serve as safeguards against common abuse patterns, including grooming attempts via unsolicited direct messages, social engineering through friend-request funnels, and exposure to explicit or sensitive content that could be used for coercion or harassment.
Age Verification Methods:
Discord plans to employ a multifaceted toolkit for age verification rather than relying on a single method. A notable addition is age inference, which aims to predict whether a user is an adult with high confidence based on account and behavioral signals. If successful, this method could reduce verification prompts for many adults. However, any inference system raises questions about false positives or negatives, explainability, and the permissibility of considered signals.
For cases requiring more certainty, Discord will continue offering explicit methods via partners, including facial age estimation and ID document scanning. The company emphasizes privacy protections, such as on-device processing for video selfies used in facial age estimation, rapid deletion of identity documents by vendors (often immediately after confirmation), and verification status visible only to the user.
Discord also cautions users that it will only prompt age assurance within the app when attempting restricted actions and will not email or text age assurance results. This anti-phishing measure signals that attackers may attempt to imitate verification workflows.
Teen Council Initiative:
In conjunction with the technical rollout, Discord is launching a Teen Council, recruiting individuals aged 13–17 in the US through May 2026. This initiative aims to incorporate teen feedback into future safety and well-being features, acknowledging that safety controls must balance risk reduction with usability and user agency.
By implementing these measures, Discord demonstrates its dedication to fostering a safer and more inclusive environment for all users, ensuring that age-appropriate content and interactions are maintained across the platform.
