Discord

❗Article Status Notice: Inappropriate Tone/Word Usage

This article needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Specifically it uses wording throughout that is non-compliant with the Editorial guidelines of this wiki.

Learn more ▼

How You Can Help: If this is a non-Theme article (See: Article types):

• Persuasive language should not be used in the Wiki's voice. Avoid loaded words, or the causing of unnecessary offense, wherever possible.
• No direct attacks on named individuals or companies. Malice may be attributed to bad and proven offenders, but only through the use of quotation and citation - never in the Wiki's voice.

If this is a Theme article:

• Where argumentation is used make sure it is clear and direct but not inflammatory. Avoid strong language, or causing unnecessary offense.
• No direct attacks on named individuals or companies. Malice may be attributed to bad and proven offenders, in a formal and calm manner.

This notice will be removed once sufficient documentation has been added to establish the systemic nature of these issues. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, visit either the Moderator's noticeboard, or the Discord (join here) and post to the #appeals channel.

Discord is a proprietary VoIP and instant-messaging platform developed by Discord Inc. (formerly Hammer & Chisel, Inc.), co-founded by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy. Launched in 2015, the service has grown to over 150 million monthly active users as of 2025. While initially marketed toward PC gamers, Discord has expanded to multiple platforms, serving various communities and use cases, such as education.

In April 2025, Humam Sakhnini (formerly King, Activision Blizzard) replaced Jason Citron as CEO.

Discord

Basic information
Founded	2015
Legal structure	Private
Industry	Software
Official website	https://discord.com

Consumer Impact Summary

Privacy

Mentioned within the Discord TOS and Privacy Policy:

• Collects extensive user data, including messages, voice communications, and server participation.
• Claims broad rights to user-generated content.
• Deleted messages are stored for undefined periods.
• Retains personal information until deemed "no longer needed" with undefined retention periods.
• Processes user content for "safety features and platform improvement".
• Shares data with related companies, vendors, and third-party service providers.
• Opt-out behavioral tracking across platform features for personalization.
• Maintains logs of IP addresses and device information for an undetermined amount of time, flags any user who has ever signed in with an EU IP address for inclusion within DSA transparency reports
• Sends a web request when any UI element is clicked & when typing
• A phone number is randomly required, and the account will be locked until a phone number is added, regardless of account age or recent activity. The account will be automatically locked if the phone number is removed.

Freedom

Mentioned within the Discord TOS and Privacy Policy:

• Mandatory binding arbitration with class-action waiver for U.S. users (Started 19 October 2018).
• Users grant a perpetual, transferable license to their content.
• Users must accept the broad terms of service that allow unilateral changes.
• Accounts can be terminated without prior notice at Discord's discretion.

• No option to opt out of core data collection while using the service.
• Content may be retained by Discord even after deletion.
• Server owners have limited recourse if their servers are banned.
• Forced to use Discord's payment processing for all monetary transactions.

Transparency

Discord terms of service are lengthy and complex, in Oct 2025, just the base terms are 29 pages, 14th grade (Junior in college) reading level, estimated reading time 42 minutes. The terms incorporate extensive additional material; a 2021 version of Discord TOS, featured in "EULAs of despair", would take an estimated 275+ hours to read.

Mentioned within the Discord Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines:

• Unclear processes for handling law enforcement requests.
• Vague about specific data retention time frames.
• Limited transparency regarding content moderation decisions.
  • In some instances, the offending content is not shown to the user, nor any metadata, filenames, timestamps, or even the originating channel.
  • No limits or restrictions on the age of content (e.g., users can be suspended due to something sent 1500 days ago)
• Server ban appeals process lacks transparency.
• Limited disclosure of recommendation algorithm factors.
• No clear disclosure of how the content is used for platform improvement.

Incidents

Introduction of forced arbitration (Oct. 2018)

In October 2018, forced arbitration would be added to the terms of service. Users could opt out by sending an 'opt-out notice' to [email protected] within the 90 days the after ToS going in effect or registering their first account.

Child safety concerns (June 2023)

An NBC News investigation in June 2023 uncovered widespread child-safety issues on Discord, revealing systemic problems with the platform's user protection measures.

Investigators identified 35 separate cases where adults were criminally charged with "kidnapping, grooming, or sexual assault" involving contacts initiated through Discord. Additionally, 165 criminal prosecutions involving the sharing of child sexual exploitation material (CSAM) on the platform were documented.

FTC data collection investigation (Sept. 2024)

In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a comprehensive report examining Discord's data-collection practices as part of a broader investigation into social-media platforms.

The investigation revealed Discord collects extensive user data, including:

• Message content and metadata
• Voice-chat participation
• Server membership and activity
• Device and location information

Particular concern was raised about:

• Collection of data from users under 13
• Handling of minor user information
• Inadequate age-verification systems

The FTC identified multiple areas where Discord's practices put users at risk:

• Identity-theft exposure
• Potential stalking risks
• Discrimination concerns
• Mental health and emotional impact

The FTC concluded that Discord's data practices created unacceptable risks for users, particularly minors, and called for significant reforms to the platform's privacy protection measures.

Reinforcement of forced arbitration (Sept. 2025)

Announced August 29th, 2025, and put into effect September 29th, 2025, Discord updated and re-iterated their forced arbitration clause, but gave users another option to opt-out of forced arbitration until October 29th, 2025 for existing accounts, or 30-days after initial agreement for new accounts. Users are automatically opted into the forced arbitration clause if no action is taken to specifically opt-out of forced arbitration within 30 days. Instead, if the users chose to delete their accounts, the platform forced them to accept the terms in order to access their account, from which to delete it; making accepting the new terms mandatory.

(2025-09-29) An example of Discord forcing users to agree to arbitration if they want to continue using the application. The terms of service at the time of this screenshot includes forced arbitration and disallows users from filing a class-action lawsuit.

Third-Party Customer Service Data Breach (Oct. 2025)

In October 2025, Discord issued a press release announcing a "Security Incident Involving Third-Party Customer Service [5CA]", in which "the unauthorized party [...] gained access to a small number of government‑ID images (e.g., driver’s license, passport) from users who had appealed an age determination", as well as other personal data provided to support. The number of ID images accessed was approximately 70,000, and the third-party in question was later named as 5CA. The hackers involved in the breach have revealed the data was accessed via Zendesk.

Vague moderation

Main article: Discord's irresponsible moderationReported countless times by users on the BBB, Trustpilot and a dedicated subreddit users have complained about how Discord's moderation is extremely vague. One such user reported their account being banned from the BBB, with an automated system handling the entire process, replying only with templates, without having a human involved in the appeal process.

How to delete account without agreeing to ToS

Visit How to delete Discord account and scroll to "Having Trouble Deleting Your Discord Account?" Find the link titled "Reach out to our support team". Direct link subject to user instance - http://dis.gd/support

Fill out the "Submit a request" form. (A web search for "Submit a request Discord" may help users find the form. Be sure to answer the question "What can we help you with" with "Help and Support" from the drop down.) Fill out the form with the same email address connected to the Discord account or this process may need to be restarted!

In the form, under "Type of question" there is an option for "Account deletion request". Proceed to fill out and submit the form with any other relevant information.

An email will then be sent with further instructions, including on how to proceed with account deletion, namely by responding to the email with "I confirm that I would like to delete the account associated with [user email]". This must be received from the same email as the associated Discord email.

An example of how Discord handles its moderation from a user's perspective.