Age verification for Discord users was supposed to be implemented in March this year, but outcry among users was so great that the company has backed down. Reasons for such criticism were manifold. The number of users who have canceled their subscriptions also likely played an important role in the change in plans. However, the integration of the age verification is only a temporary measure. A lot is set to change before the next attempt.
Age Verification on Discord: Postponed, Not Canceled
In the blog post, the CTO and co-founder of Discord, Stanislav Vishnevskiy, wrote about how the company was aware of how controversial the plans would be even before they were announced. In hindsight, however, they realized they should have discussed the planned age verification in detail.
Many users of the popular online platform thought the age verification would be implemented for all accounts. This was one of the reasons for the huge outcry. At the same time, Discord distanced itself from its partner Persona a few days ago after it came under fire.
Discord now wants to make it clear that not every user has to upload a face scan or ID to use the service. Vishnevskiy wrote: “That’s not reality, but the fact that so many people believe it shows us that we’ve failed at our most basic task: clearly explaining what we do and why. That’s our fault.” At the same time, they want to enable other ways for users to verify their age in the future. A credit card was cited as an example.
According to Discord, more than 90 percent of users will never have to confirm their age. One of the reasons for this is that most users never want access to material that is only made for adults. At the same time, systems are already in place that determine one’s age automatically. How exactly it will work will be documented later in a more technical report.
If you are one of the other 10 percent who have to confirm their age but don’t want to, not much will change. You will keep your account, the servers, your friends list, your messages, and the voice chat. The only things you won’t see are the content that is behind the age barrier. You will also not be able to change some settings that were designed to protect teens.
Discord is currently planning for a second attempt at age verification to begin in the second half of 2026. In some countries, including the UK, Australia, and Brazil, a system such as k-ID is already in operation to carry out age verification due to existing laws.
More Transparency
At the same time, the company also wants to increase transparency concerning its partners. Discord users are also skeptical about this. Last year, there was a security incident at a Discord partner that leaked the IDs of 70,000 users, among other things. Discord no longer works with this company and has learned from the incident.
In the future, the company wants to disclose which service providers Discord works with. This should also include the way user data is handled. At the same time, the company also wants to offer several providers to choose from to carry out age verification.
A new requirement has also been defined: Every partner that offers age verification based on a face scan do so entirely on one’s device. If a company does not meet this requirement, Discord will not work with them.
