Featured Image Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Topics: Social Media, World News, US News
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Social Media, World News, US News
Discord users will have to scan their faces to use the app in its entirety as new age restrictions are ushered in.
It's a move that's become more commonplace worldwide as websites seek to safeguard young people.
Roblox, Steam, and Twitch have all taken the same steps, while PornHub also famously rolled out ID requirements in the US in 2023 and in the UK last year, which has led to a surge in VPN downloads.
Now, Discord users will have to upload photos of their government ID to access age-restricted channels and 'sensitive content'.
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In an update on Monday (February 9), Discord announced 'enhanced teen safety features' would be rolled out globally for a 'more inclusive experience for users over the age of 13'.
"As part of this update, all new and existing users worldwide will have a teen-appropriate experience by default, with updated communication settings, restricted access to age-gated spaces, and content filtering that preserves the privacy and meaningful connections that define Discord," the update further explained.
The 'phase global rollout' begins in early March, with users required to engage in 'an age-verification process to change certain settings or access sensitive content', adding: "This includes age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests."
The new requirements come just a few months after some 70,000 users had government ID photos 'exposed' in a breach of a third-party service the company uses to manage data.
“Recently, we discovered an incident where an unauthorized party compromised one of Discord’s third-party customer service providers,” Discord said at the time.
“The unauthorized party then gained access to information from a limited number of users who had contacted Discord through our Customer Support and/or Trust & Safety teams.”
They added that while 'limited billing information such as payment type, the last four digits of your credit card, and purchase history if associated with your account' and 'IP addresses' may have been impacted, other things, such as 'full credit card numbers or CCV codes' and 'passwords or authentication data' were not.
However, in its most recent age verification update, Discord explained that video selfies for facial age estimation 'never leave a user’s device' and that identity documents submitted to vendor partners are 'deleted quickly— in most cases, immediately after age confirmation'.
"In most cases, users complete the process once and their Discord experience adapts to their verified age group. Users may be asked to use multiple methods only when more information is needed to assign an age group," they added.
A user's age verification status will remain private and cannot be seen by others.
Discord users took to Reddit to discuss the notion of uploading their data - and many were against it, as some threatened to delete their accounts.
"This will kill Discord," one user predicted, as a second said: "Time to switch elsewhere."
"I'm either going to leave my account on 'teen appropriate experience' or I'll just delete the stupid thing entirely. I barely ever use Discord and this is just stupid," a third weighed in.
UNILAD has contacted Discord for comment.