If you use Discord, it’ll require you to submit your ID and a face scan for full access soon
Discord has announced that it will be rolling out teen-by-default safety settings globally for all new and existing users, as part of its efforts for a safer and more age-appropriate experience on the platform. The phased global rollout is expected to begin in early March 2026, following earlier launches in the UK and Australia last year.
Under the new system, all users will be placed into a teen-safe experience by default, unless they are verified as adults. This includes stricter communication controls, content filtering, and limited access to age-restricted spaces.
Users may be required to go through age verification to change certain settings or access sensitive content, such as:
- Age-restricted servers and channels
- Certain app commands
- Select message requests
Discord says its age assurance process is designed with privacy in mind. Users can choose between:
- Facial age estimation, processed entirely on-device
- Submitting identification through Discord’s vendor partners
Discord is also introducing an age inference model that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without requiring verification in all cases. They claim that video selfies never leave your device, and that submitted ID documents are deleted immediately after verification. The platform also claims that age verification status is private, and won’t be revealed to other users. If you fail the verification, you can also appeal and redo the process.
Once the update rolls out, the following settings will apply by default:
- Sensitive content blurred unless the user is verified as an adult
- Age-gated servers and channels accessible only to verified adults
- Message Request Inbox enabled by default, separating DMs from unknown users
- Friend request warnings for requests from people users may not know
- Stage channel restrictions, allowing only verified adults to speak
Unsurprisingly, this move has not gone down well with Discord users. The messaging platform first implemented it in UK and Australia last year, but almost immediately users found loopholes such as using photo modes from games like Death Stranding to bypass the face recognition process.
The security of the data being sent to Discord is also of concern; late last year, a former Discord third-party vendor suffered a data breach, leaking users’ age verification data such as photos of submitted IDs. Discord does state that they now use a different third party vendor for age verification, but unsurprisingly users remain skeptical about this move.
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