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Discord Sets Global Teen-By-Default Rules, Expands Age Checks Starting in March

The company will infer adulthood from behavior, requesting extra proof only when its model is unsure.

Overview

  • All accounts will default to a teen-appropriate experience that blocks age-gated channels, blurs mature content, limits DMs from unknown users, adds warnings to friend requests, and prevents speaking on Stage channels unless age is verified.
  • An inference model will estimate adulthood using signals like account age, usage times, and games played while excluding private messages, and Discord says most adults likely will not need to verify.
  • If flagged, users can complete an on-device video selfie for age estimation that Discord says never leaves the device and does not use biometrics or facial recognition.
  • As a fallback, government IDs can be uploaded for human review by new partner K-ID, with Discord stating submitted images will be deleted quickly.
  • Privacy advocates criticize the plan for undermining anonymity and risking harm to vulnerable users, citing a 2025 incident that reportedly exposed about 70,000 ID images that Discord attributed to a third-party support provider, a claim the provider disputes.