Discord's mandatory age verification

Discord is moving forward with mandatory age verification for many users. This decision comes on the heels of a data breach in October 2025, which exposed the personal and sensitive information of over 70,000 users. The timing of these changes has raised concerns about user privacy, data security, and the anonymity of being online, which is slowly disappearing.

Discord's Teen-By-Default Age Verification Policy

On February 9, 2026, Discord announced its "teen-by-default" policy, which will be launched globally. All new and existing users worldwide will have a teen-appropriate experience by default unless and until Discord determines you are over the age of 18. This feature restricts access to age-gated servers, channels, bot commands, and "select message requests."^[1] The feature will start to go into effect early March, meaning all new and existing accounts will have to undergo the age verification process to see adult content. But, according to Discord, most users will be unaffected because they do not access adult content.

Individuals who are not age verified will:

Be unable to unblur images.
Be unable to use age-restricted servers, channels, and app commands.
Not be allowed to speak on stages in servers.
Have their message request inbox altered, sending requests from those they may not know to a separate inbox.
Have warning prompts appear when receiving friend requests from users they may not know.

Methods Of Verification

Currently, there are three methods Discord will use to determine the age of the user: video selfies, ID verification, and its new age inference model. Accounts attempting or currently accessing NSFW content on Discord will automatically have their age estimated by the age inference model. If the assessment is unsure, then you will have to upload a government ID or facial scan to prove you are an adult and access restricted content. Discord claims to want to add more methods of verification in the future to make age verification easier.

Age Inference Model

Discord developed its own machine learning system to predict what age group a user falls into. It uses user information like account age, user behavior, and activity to estimate the age of the user. Although Discord hasn't said exactly what information they are using, they have explicitly stated they do not use private messages to determine your age.

ID Verification

Discord may require the user to upload a government-issued ID in order to verify their age. Discord claims that once the photo is submitted, Discord only gets your age information, and the photo is deleted. ^[1]

Video Selfie/ Facial Scan

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References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0

^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

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↑ Bonifield, Stevie (2026-02-09). "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
↑ "Discord Launches Teen-by-Default Settings Globally". Discord. 2026-02-09. Archived from the original on 2026-02-09. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
↑ "Update on a Security Incident Involving Third-Party Customer Service". Discord. 2025-10-03. Archived from the original on 2025-10-03. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
↑ "Discord Voluntarily Pushes Mandatory Age Verification Despite Recent Data Breach". Effecting Change. 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0

[2] Bonifield, Stevie (2026-02-09). "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-19.

[:0-3] "Discord Launches Teen-by-Default Settings Globally". Discord. 2026-02-09. Archived from the original on 2026-02-09. Retrieved 2026-02-19.

[4] "Update on a Security Incident Involving Third-Party Customer Service". Discord. 2025-10-03. Archived from the original on 2025-10-03. Retrieved 2026-02-19.

[5] "Discord Voluntarily Pushes Mandatory Age Verification Despite Recent Data Breach". Effecting Change. 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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