Discord rolls out AI age verification globally after data breach exposed 70,000 government IDs

Discord faces backlash over age checks after data breach exposed 70,000 IDs

Discord is facing backlash after announcing that all users will soon be required to verify ages to access adult content by sharing video selfies or uploading government IDs. According to Discord, it's relying on AI technology that verifies age on the user's device, either by evaluating a user's facial structure or by comparing a selfie to a government ID. That data will never leave the user's device, Discord emphasized, and is promptly deleted after the user's age is estimated. In a blog, Discord confirmed that "a phased global rollout" would begin in "early March," at which point all users globally would be defaulted to "teen-appropriate" experiences. To unblur sensitive media or access age-restricted channels, the majority of users will likely have to undergo Discord's age estimation process. Most users will only need to verify their ages once, Discord said, but some users "may be asked to use multiple methods, if more information is needed to assign an age group," the blog said. On social media, alarmed Discord users protested the move, doubting whether Discord could be trusted with their most sensitive information after Discord age verification data was recently breached. In October, hackers stole government IDs of 70,000 Discord users from a third-party service that Discord previously trusted to verify ages in the United Kingdom and Australia. At that time, Discord told users that the hackers were hoping to use the stolen data to "extort a financial ransom from Discord." Back in October, Ars Senior Security Editor Dan Goodin joined others warning that "the best advice for people who have submitted IDs to Discord or any other service is to assume they have been or soon will be stolen by hackers and put up for sale or used in extortion scams." For bad actors, Discord will likely only become a bigger target as more sensitive information is collected worldwide, users now fear. It's no surprise then that hundreds of Discord users on Reddit slammed the decision to expand age verification globally shortly after The Verge broke the news. On a PC gaming sub-reddit discussing alternative apps for gamers, one user wrote, "Hell, Discord has already had one ID breach, why the fuck would anyone verify on it after that?" "This is how Discord dies," another user declared. "Seriously, uploading any kind of government ID to a 3rd party company is just asking for identity theft on a global scale." Many users seem just as sketched out about sharing face scans. On the Discord app sub-reddit, some users vowed to never submit selfies or IDs, fearing that breaches may be inevitable and suspecting Discord of downplaying privacy risks while allowing data harvesting. Who can access Discord age-check data? Discord's system is supposed to make sure that only users have access to their age-check data, which Discord said would never leave their phones. The company is hoping to convince users that it has tightened up security after the breach by partnering with k-ID, an increasingly popular age-check service provider that's also used by social platforms from Meta and Snap. However, self-described Discord users on Reddit aren't so sure, with some going the extra step of picking apart k-ID's privacy policy, while attempting to understand exactly how age is verified without data ever leaving the device. "The wording is pretty unclear and inconsistent even if you dig down to the k-ID privacy policy," one Redditor speculated. "Seems that ID scans are uploaded to k-ID servers, they delete them, but they also mention using 'trusted 3rd parties' for verification, who may or may not delete it." That user seemingly gave up on finding reassurances in either company's privacy policies, noting that "everywhere along the chain it reads like 'we don't collect your data, we forward it to someone else... .'" Discord and k-ID did not immediately respond to Ars' requests to comment directly on how age checks work without data leaving the device. To better understand user concerns, Ars conducted a review of privacy policies, noting that k-ID said its "facial age estimation" tool is provided by a Swiss company called Privately. "We don't actually see any faces that are processed via this solution," k-ID's policy said. That part does seem vague, since Privately isn't explicitly included in the "we" in that statement. Similarly, further down, the policy more clearly stated that "neither k-ID nor its service providers collect any biometric information from users when they interact with the solution. k-ID only receives and stores the outcome of the age check process." In that section, "service providers" seems to refer to partners like Discord, which integrate k-ID's age checks, rather than third parties like Privately that actually conduct the age check. Turning to Privately's website, that offers a little more information on how on-device age estimation works, while providing likely more reassurances that data won't leave devices. Privately's services were designed to minimize data collection and prioritize anonymity to comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, Privately noted. "No user biometric or personal data is captured or transmitted," Privately's website said, while bragging that "our secret sauce is our ability to run very performant models on the user device or user browser to implement a privacy-centric solution." The company's privacy policy offers slightly more detail, noting that the company avoids relying on the cloud while running AI models on local devices. "Our technology is built using on-device edge-AI that facilitates data minimization so as to maximise user privacy and data protection," the privacy policy said. "The machine learning based technology that we use (for age estimation and safeguarding) processes user's data on their own devices, thereby avoiding the need for us or for our partners to export user's personal data onto any form of cloud services." Additionally, the policy said, "our technology solutions are built to operate mostly on user devices and to avoid sending any of the user's personal data to any form of cloud service. For this we use specially adapted machine learning models that can be either deployed or downloaded on the user's device. This avoids the need to transmit and retain user data outside the user device in order to provide the service." Finally, Privately explained that it also employs a "double blind" implementation to avoid knowing the origin of age estimation requests. That supposedly ensures that Privately only knows the result of age checks and cannot connect the result to a user on a specific platform. Discord expects to lose users Some Discord users may never be asked to verify their ages, even if they try to access age-restricted content. Savannah Badalich, Discord's global head of product policy, told The Verge that Discord "is also rolling out an age inference model that analyzes metadata, like the types of games a user plays, their activity on Discord, and behavioral signals like signs of working hours or the amount of time they spend on Discord." "If we have a high confidence that they are an adult, they will not have to go through the other age verification flows," Badalich said. Badalich confirmed that Discord is bracing for some users to leave Discord over the update but suggested that "we'll find other ways to bring users back." On Reddit, Discord users complained that age verification is easy to bypass, forcing adults to share sensitive information without keeping kids away from harmful content. In Australia, where Discord's policy first rolled out, some kids claimed that Discord never even tried to estimate their ages, while others found it easy to trick k-ID by using AI videos or altering their appearances to look older. A teen girl relied on fake eyelashes to do the trick, while one 13-year-old boy was estimated to be over 30 years old after scrunching his face to seem more wrinkled. Badalich told the Verge that Discord doesn't expect the tools to work perfectly but acts quickly to block workarounds, like teens using Death Stranding's photo mode to skirt age gates. However, questions remain about the accuracy of Discord's age estimation model in assessing minors' ages, in particular. It may be noteworthy that Privately only claims that its technology is "proven to be accurate to within 1.3 years, for 18-20 year-old faces, regardless of a customer's gender or ethnicity." But experts told Ars last year that flawed age verification technology still frequently struggles to distinguish minors from adults, especially when differentiating between a 17- and 18-year-old, for example. Perhaps notably, Discord's prior scandal came after hackers stole government IDs that users shared as part of the appeal process in order to fix an incorrect age estimation. Appeals could remain the most vulnerable part of this process, The Verge's report indicated. Badalich confirmed that a third-party vendor would be reviewing appeals, with the only reassurance for users seemingly that IDs shared during appeals "are deleted quickly -- in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." On Reddit, Discord fans awaiting big changes remain upset. A disgruntled Discord user suggested that "corporations like Facebook and Discord, will implement easily passable, cheapest possible, bare minimum under the law verification, to cover their ass from a lawsuit," while forcing users to trust that their age-check data is secure. Another user joked that she'd be more willing to trust that selfies never leave a user's device if Discord was "willing to pay millions to every user" whose "scan does leave a device."

Discord says 'vast majority' of users won't see its new age verification setup

On Tuesday, Discord released an update clarifying that the "vast majority of people can continue using Discord exactly as they do today," without needing to use a face scan or ID to verify their age so they can use the platform without restrictions. Discord states in the post that "age prediction" using information Discord already has will likely be sufficient for many users: We've seen some questions about our age assurance update and we want to share more clarity. We know how important these changes are to our community. Here's what we want you to know: * Discord is not requiring everyone to complete a face scan or upload an ID to use Discord. * The vast majority of people can continue using Discord exactly as they do today, without ever being asked to confirm their age. You need to be an adult to access age-restricted experiences such as age-restricted servers and channels or to modify certain safety settings. However, in the case that Discord's age inference model can't accurately or concretely estimate a user's age, they will still have to use a video selfie or ID to verify that they're an adult. Users who aren't verified as adults or determined to be under 18 will have a "teen-appropriate" experience with certain limitations, like being blocked from age-restricted servers. Some platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, OpenAI, and Anthropic, already use AI to "guess" the age of users on their services as they inch their way toward implementing age verification. Discord says it uses account information, device and activity data, and "high-level patterns" across the platform's communities to estimate someone's age. Many users expressed frustration with Discord after the platform announced that it would start imposing an age verification requirement on users around the globe next month. While some claimed they're going to leave the platform and cancel their Nitro subscriptions, others raised privacy concerns. Last year, a third-party vendor used by Discord experienced a data breach, exposing user information and a "small number" of ID cards uploaded to the platform for age verification. Discord says it has since stopped using this vendor.

Discord puts everyone in teen mode by default

Although you might be able to wiggle out if its AI age-inference model decides you're an adult Don't want Discord to start treating your account like it belongs to an underage kid? Then you'd better be willing to fork over some PII - just months after the company's age verification partner had such data stolen. Starting with a phased rollout in early March, Discord is going to put all new and existing users into a teen-appropriate experience by default, the company said on Monday. That means communication restrictions, limits on access to age-gated spaces, and content filtering will be switched on by default regardless of a user's actual age - and loosening those settings will generally require proving you're not a minor. "Rolling out teen-by-default settings globally builds on Discord's existing safety architecture, giving teens strong protections while allowing verified adults flexibility," Discord global head of product policy Savannah Badalich said in the company's announcement. "Nowhere is our safety work more important than when it comes to teen users." For adults, regaining access to their chosen Discord spaces may mean handing over a copy of ID to one of the company's age verification vendors, or uploading a video selfie that will be used for age estimation. Unless Discord's background age-inference model decides you're an adult. "Discord will implement its age inference model, a new system that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without always requiring users to verify their age," the company said. Discord users worried about handing over their personal information to Discord to prove they're old enough to chat with other adults are right to be worried. As noted above, a third-party customer service provider used by Discord was compromised last October, and attackers accessed images from roughly 70,000 government ID scans that users had submitted as part of age-verification processes. The language in Monday's announcement is vague about how data related to ID verification is processed and stored, stating that "identity documents submitted to our vendor partners are deleted quickly" without getting specific about who is doing the deletion and how soon. As for video selfies, Discord said that those "never leave a user's device." Video selfies seem like the better privacy choice based on that explanation, but it's worth pointing out that Discord might ask for multiple forms of identification "if more information is needed to assign an age group." Hopefully, you look your age, assuming this latest generation of Discord age-verification algorithms can't be fooled by a video game. Discord didn't respond to questions for this story. ®

Discord will use "automated detection with AI validation and human review" to age-gate your servers

* Discord will roll out global age checks using face or ID scans; teen mode is the default. * AI and human review will age-gate servers, but sheer server volume risks misclassification. * Global rollout starts early March, effectiveness unknown; servers may get misrated. Discord made huge waves among its community when it announced that it would begin rolling out age checks worldwide. Originally intended only for countries like the UK, where age scans are mandatory, Discord has claimed it'll begin asking everyone for face or ID scans to help protect teen safety. This new system will put Discord users into a "teen mode" by default, granting them access to teen-safe content on the platform. But here's the question: how will Discord decide which servers a teen account can access? Well, it seems the company will utilise AI and human review to do the job. Expired Discord invite links are being used to try trick you into installing malware on your PC Be careful when clicking that Discord invite link: it may be a trap. Posts By Simon Batt Discord will deploy AI and human reviews to identify server age gates Here's hoping things don't go wrong As spotted by PC Gamer, an official representative of Discord got in touch with Games Market to better clarify how they're going to protect kids from joining adult servers. Here's what they said: "We do not automatically age-gate servers or content related to a specific game based on its rating alone. However, our Violence and Graphic Content Policy does not allow the uploading or sharing of any content depicting real violence, gore, or animal cruelty. Discord's content safety filters are part of our broader Teen Safety Assist and safety-by-default approach. They help reduce exposure to certain categories of potentially sensitive image-based media, especially for teens. "[These filters will be applied] with a combination of automated detection with AI validation and human review to proactively identify and age-gate servers." It sounds like Discord will deploy a system that will begin marking servers as either teen-friendly or adult-only. An AI will then validate the decision, and then a human will confirm the judgment manually. Given the sheer number of Discord servers out there, there's a good chance there will be cases where a non-NSFW server gets hit with an adult-only rating, or, worse, a mature server that doesn't get age-gated. XDA Report: Subscribe and never miss what matters Stay ahead in the world of Windows, software, PC components, and more with XDA Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. How well will Discord's sorting system work? It's impossible to say right now. However, we'll get a better idea of the damage once the global age gates roll out in early March and people start getting dinged for their server choice. And hey, if things get really bad, there's always Mumble.

Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month

Discord announced on Monday that it's rolling out age verification on its platform globally starting next month, when it will automatically set all users' accounts to a "teen-appropriate" experience unless they demonstrate that they're adults. Users who aren't verified as adults will not be able to access age-restricted servers and channels, won't be able to speak in Discord's livestream-like "stage" channels, and will see content filters for any content Discord detects as graphic or sensitive. They will also get warning prompts for friend requests from potentially unfamiliar users, and DMs from unfamiliar users will be automatically filtered into a separate inbox. Direct messages and servers that are not age-restricted will continue to function normally, but 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 age verification rolled out. Savannah Badalich, Discord's global head of product policy, said in an interview with The Verge that those servers will be "obfuscated" with a black screen until the user verifies they're an adult. Users also won't be able to join any new age-restricted servers without verifying their age. Discord's global age verification launch is part of a wave of similar moves at other online platforms, driven by an international legal push for age checks and stronger child safety measures. This is not the first time Discord has implemented some form of age verification, either. It initially rolled out age checks for users in the UK and Australia last year, which some users figured out how to circumvent using Death Stranding's photo mode. Badalich says Discord "immediately fixed it after a week," but expects users will continue finding creative ways to try getting around the age checks, adding that Discord will "try to bug bash as much as we possibly can." It's not just teens trying to cheat the system who might attempt to dodge age checks. Adult users could avoid verifying, as well, due to concerns around data privacy, particularly if they don't want to use an ID to verify their age. In October, one of Discord's former third-party vendors suffered a data breach that exposed users' age verification data, including images of government IDs. A government ID might still be required for age verification in its global roll-out. According to Discord, to remove the new "teen-by-default" changes and limitations, "users can choose to use facial age estimation or submit a form of identification to [Discord's] vendor partners, with more options coming in the future." The first option uses AI to analyze a user's video selfie, which Discord says never leaves the user's device. If the age group estimate (teen or adult) from the selfie is incorrect, users can appeal it or verify with a photo of an identity document instead. That document will be verified by a third party vendor, but Discord says the images of those documents "are deleted quickly -- in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." Badalich also says after the October data breach, Discord "immediately stopped doing any sort of age verification flows with that vendor" and is now using a different third-party vendor. She adds that, "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." However, some users may not have to go through either form of age verification. Discord is also rolling out an age inference model that analyzes metadata like the types of games a user plays, their activity on Discord, and behavioral signals like signs of working hours or the amount of time they spend on Discord. "If we have a high confidence that they are an adult, they will not have to go through the other age verification flows," Badalich says. She goes on to explain that 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. When we say that, we're really talking about things that are truly adult content [and] age inappropriate for a teen. So, the way that it will work is a majority of people are not going to see a change in their experience." Even so, there's still a risk that some users will leave Discord as a result of the age verification roll-out. "We do expect that there will be some sort of hit there, and we are incorporating that into what our planning looks like," Badalich says. "We'll find other ways to bring users back."

Discord to start requiring face scan or ID to access adult content

Discord will soon require all users globally to verify their age with a face scan or by uploading a form of ID if they want to access adult content. The online chat service, which allows people to create and join groups based on their interests, says it has more than 200 million monthly users. Its new safety measures are designed to protect people by placing everyone into a teen-appropriate experience "by default". Discord already makes some users in the UK and Australia verify their age to comply with online safety laws - but it will roll out the age checks to all users worldwide from early March. "Nowhere is our safety work more important than when it comes to teen users," said Discord policy head Savannah Badalich. "Rolling out teen-by-default settings globally builds on Discord's existing safety architecture, giving teens strong protections while allowing verified adults flexibility." The platform says the new default settings will restrict what people can see and how they can communicate, with only those who prove they are an adult able to access age-restricted communities and unblur material marked as sensitive. Users will also not be able to see direct messages sent to them from someone they do not know unless they complete Discord's age checks. Users can either upload a photo of their ID to confirm their age or take a video selfie, where AI will be used to estimate their facial age. Discord said information used for age checks will not be stored by the platform or the verification company. It said face scans would not be collected, and ID uploads would be deleted after the verification is complete. Privacy campaigners have previously warned such methods could pose a risk to people's privacy. Discord faced criticism in October after official ID photos of around 70,000 users were potentially leaked after a firm which helped it verify ages was hacked. Its announcement comes after reports in early January said the company was looking to start selling its shares publicly. With its new measures - which include a teen safety council - Discord is also echoing Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and Roblox. Social platforms have rolled out a slew of measures to protect teens and children on their sites in recent years after facing increased pressure from lawmakers. Discord's boss Jason Citron was grilled about his company's child safety measures at a fiery US Senate hearing in 2024, alongside alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Snap boss Evan Spiegler and TikTok's chief Shou Chew. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.

Discord In Damage Control Mode As Users Threaten To Ditch Nitro

Discord will treat you like a teen unless its AI can sniff out your real age or you give it sensitive data I've never seen patch notes issued for a press release before, but Discord just did exactly that. The company has updated the language around its new age-gating rules to make clear that the "vast majority" of users have nothing to worry about because the company's AI will be able to accurately estimate their age and bypass the controversial new verification procedures rolling out over the next few months. It's been a rough 24 hours for Discord, the modern hub for gaming conversations online. The company revealed new age verification requirements on February 9 that would lock users out of certain features, like "age-restricted experiences," unless they upload a face scan or a picture of their ID. The blowback was swift and loud, with calls to boycott Discord's paid Nitro subscriptions and return to old-school website forums. Maybe that's why Discord returned a day later to post a "novel" that goes into more detail about its new age assurance rules. "Discord is not requiring everyone to complete a face scan or upload an ID to use Discord," the company promised in a new addendum on February 10. "The vast majority of people can continue using Discord exactly as they do today, without ever being asked to confirm their age." That's because Discord's AI inference model will be used to guess most users' age. If it guesses a number that's 18 or higher, you're in the clear. If it doesn't, you'll have to give the company your sensitive data in order to get around the new teen safety protocols. But Discord is quick to stress that this doesn't apply to most people because most people don't ever access adult content on Discord. "You must be a confirmed adult to access age-restricted content and experiences such as age-restricted servers and channels or to modify certain safety settings," the company explains in a new FAQ. "The majority of Discord users don’t access age restricted content and will never go through a facial age estimation flow or ID verification. In the minority of cases where we cannot confirm you as an adult and you need to access age-restricted areas and settings, then you will be asked to go through additional steps." All of this "our big announcement wasn't actually a big deal" energy came after an immediate user revolt that saw, among other things, Discord repeatedly get community noted on X. People didn't like the idea that Discord is already constantly surveilling its users to build an anonymous profile of you that I'm sure it's not hoping to further monetize once it reportedly launches its secret IPO. It doesn't help that all of this is coming after a pretty bad hack of a Discord vendor last year that saw age verification materials, including photos of users' faces, obtained by malicious actors. The company says it doesn't keep this information tagged to your user data, but if you think there's a safe way to digitally transmit your face and/or your government-issued ID to a company over the internet in 2026, then I have some totally not killer AI robot assistants to sell you. While the backlash has been noisy, it's not clear how many people will actually shift away from Discord over the new rules, though some diehard users on the Discord subreddit already claim to be calling it quits. One popular thread had a server owner looking for help with archiving it before they leave the platform. Some users on social media, meanwhile, have been making public displays of canceling their paid memberships, Discord's main source of revenue. So far, non one seems to be biting on the company's latest attempt to deescalate people's fears. "If this isn’t reversed I will be cancelling my Nitro and all Boosts," one user wrote on X. "I recommend everyone does the same." Discord's amended announcement, like the original, is already well on its way to getting ratio'd.

Discord age verification will soon require a face scan or your ID - Phandroid

If you use Discord, your experience on the platform is about to change. The company announced on Monday that it's rolling out a "teen-by-default" setting for all users worldwide. Starting with a phased rollout in early March, every account will be treated as belonging to a teen unless the user proves otherwise. To unlock full access, Discord age verification will require either a video selfie for facial age estimation or a government-issued ID submitted to one of Discord's vendor partners. Without verifying, users won't be able to access age-restricted servers or channels, unblur sensitive content, speak onstage in servers, or even change their message request settings. Messages from people you don't know will be filtered into a separate inbox by default. Basically, if you don't verify, Discord is going to feel a lot more locked down than it used to. Discord is giving users two paths to verify. The first uses AI to estimate your age based on a video selfie. According to Discord, that video never leaves your device. The second option involves uploading a photo of your driver's license, passport, or other government ID to a third-party vendor. Discord says those documents are deleted quickly after confirmation. In some cases, users might need to complete both steps if the system can't confidently determine an age group from just one method. You've probably noticed the elephant in the room here. Just four months ago, Discord dealt with a data breach involving one of its third-party vendors that handled age-related appeals. Around 70,000 users had their government ID photos exposed in that incident. The hackers, a group calling themselves Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, initially claimed to have stolen far more data than Discord acknowledged. Now the platform is asking millions of users to hand over the same kind of sensitive information. Discord says it has since dropped that vendor and cleaned up its data practices. Savannah Badalich, Discord's head of product policy, told The Verge that the company expects some users will leave over this change. "We'll find other ways to bring users back," she said. The company is also building a background "age inference model" that analyzes account behavior to figure out if someone is an adult without requiring a formal check every time. Discord isn't alone in this push. Roblox recently started requiring facial verification for chat access, and YouTube rolled out age-estimation tech in the US last year. Regulations like the UK's Online Safety Act are putting pressure on platforms to prove they're keeping kids safe. Whether users trust Discord enough to hand over their face or their ID is another question entirely. The platform has been working on better security, but trust takes time to rebuild after a breach like that.

Discord raises more questions while attempting to quell age verification fury by saying an AI model can look at "patterns of user behavior" to predict how old many folks are anyway

Plus, its "dedicated age assurance vendors" weren't involved in last year's third-party data breach Days after announcing unpopular plans to age-lock accounts, Discord has made some clarifications about its "age assurance update," reiterating that "facial scans never leave your device," IDs are "deleted" after getting your age, and a lot of the time it knows who its adult users are because of the "advanced" AI model it's developed to predict folks' ages. That last part feels like it might raise more questions than answers. Earlier this week, Discord announced that "teen-by-default" settings are rolling out for all users worldwide, as part of its "long-standing commitment to creating a safer and more inclusive experience for users over the age of 13." This means that by default, amongst other things, users will be unable to access age-restricted channels and unblur sensitive content, and direct messages from people you might not know will be "routed to a separate inbox." You can't change these settings without being an "age-assured adult." Adults can verify their age to gain full access back, but this may require using either "facial age estimation" with a face scan, or submitting "a form of identification" to Discord "vendor partners" - not exactly a tantalizing option only a few months on from a data breach of a third-party provider. At the time, Discord said that around 70,000 users "may have had government-ID photos exposed, which our vendor used to review age-related appeals." Needless to say, you can understand why folks had concerns, and Discord has added an update to its announcement page to try and address them, although it largely ends up going over the same information as before. Firstly, it reiterates that "Discord is not requiring everyone to complete a face scan or upload an ID" to use the platform, adding that "the vast majority of people can continue using Discord exactly as they do today, without ever being asked to confirm their age." Discord reckons that "for the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have." It then discusses age prediction, which "allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check." This is completed using "an advanced machine learning model," developed at Discord itself, which looks at "patterns of user behavior and several other signals associated with their account" to put them into an age group. "We only use these signals to assign users to an age group when our confidence level is high; when it isn't, users go through our standard age assurance flow to confirm their age," Discord says. "We do not use your message content in the age estimation model." As for those other verification methods, it's stated that "facial scans never leave your device. Discord and our vendor partners never receive it." Forms of ID "are used to get your age only and then deleted," it now claims, seemingly backtracking slightly from its previous statement in which it said - in a concerningly vague manner - that "in most cases" they're quickly deleted straight after age confirmation. Discord also states that it "only receives your age," and that "your identity is never associated with your account." Perhaps most importantly, it's noted that the "dedicated age assurance vendors" it's partnering with "were not involved in the September 2025 data breach of our customer service agent," and "perform these verifications in a way to minimize the data collected and stored." Looking at the reaction online, people still aren't happy about all this, and you can understand the hesitation. The platform says that "we will be sharing additional information and FAQs in this blog with more details on our approach" in the "coming weeks," which may provide more insight.

Discord will age-lock your account next month and you'll have to submit an ID or accept a face scan to unlock it - you know, 4 months after suffering a third-party data breach

"We'll find other ways to bring users back," said product policy head, acknowledging the odds of users leaving Discord After softer, region-specific rollouts, Discord has now announced global child protection settings that will default all users to an age-locked "teen-by-default" status pending age verification via ID or selfie age estimation. Teen-by-default settings will hit "all new and existing users worldwide" in March 2026, starting with "a phased global rollout." Discord announced the change today, echoing a rise in age-based online protections purportedly aimed at child safety. Once marked as a teen on Discord, "users may be required to engage in an age-verification process to change certain settings or access sensitive content." This includes filters for "truly adult content," according to product policy head Savannah Badalich (thanks, The Verge), as well as "age-gated spaces" including channels and servers, and chat for live "stage" shows in servers. Direct messages from "people a user may not know" will additionally be "routed to a separate inbox," and friend request alerts will similarly receive a warning prompt. To slough off these age restrictions, you "can choose to use facial age estimation or submit a form of identification to [Discord's] vendor partners, with more options coming in the future." Age estimation runs "video selfies" through an AI that tries to determine how old you are. Discord says these selfies "never leave a user's device." ID verification will be handled by third-party vendors. Again, Discord says, "Identity documents submitted to our vendor partners are deleted quickly - in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." The phrase "in most cases" is putting in work there, as is the word "vendor". You may recall that in October 2025, a now-ex Discord vendor was breached, with Discord admitting that "approximately 70,000 users ... may have had government-ID photos exposed, which our vendor used to review age-related appeals." "This was not a breach of Discord, but rather a breach of a third-party service provider, 5CA, that we used to support our customer service efforts," Discord said at the time. But with the company rolling out ID-collecting verification globally, scrutiny of age-related appeal processing is only going to intensify, and the volume of user data in Discord's pipelines will only grow. When Discord does add "more options" for age verification, we'll apparently see an "age inference model, a new system that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without always requiring users to verify their age." Again, this looks to be AI trying its best to see if you're old. It's unclear how, or how reliably, the model will assess users. Should we start posting about lower back pain and taxes, just to be safe? Badalich acknowledged the risk of users leaving Discord over this change - which, based on the reactions I've seen online, is the safest conclusion to draw from this news. "We do expect that there will be some sort of hit there," she said, "and we are incorporating that into what our planning looks like. We'll find other ways to bring users back."