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An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter- Discord says it's rolling out age verification checks globally from March
- The decision has sparked outrage from many disappointed Discord users
- A third-party vendor used by Discord was hacked in October 2025
Discord has announced that it's rolling out age verification checks globally from March, and the decision has sparked a wave of online anger not seen since Disney+ suspended Jimmy Kimmel.
The messaging app casually announced that "teen-by-default settings" will roll out "globally for all Discord users" in early March. That means both new and existing users will need to complete a facial age estimation check – using a video selfie – or submit an ID to Discord's partners in order to use many parts of the platform.
These include accessing age-restricted channels, servers, or commands, and unblurring sensitive content or turning off that setting. If you don't complete Discord's age verification, you also won't be able to access a separate message inbox for DMs from people you may not know, or speak on stage in servers.
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The controversy centers on the security of those age checks, particularly given that Discord recently had to admit in October 2025 that "an unauthorized party compromised one of our third-party vendors".
Discord's assurances about its age checks haven't exactly instilled much confidence in many users. If you get your age estimated by video selfie, Discord promises it will never leave your device. However, it also adds that "some users may be asked to use multiple methods if more information is needed to assign an age group," and if your age group estimate is incorrect, you'll need to appeal it or verify it with an ID instead.
On that front, Discord says that "identity documents submitted to our vendor partners are deleted quickly – in most cases, immediately after age confirmation". And the company says that it is no longer working with the third-party vendor that was hit by that leak last year.
Yet none of this has particularly calmed the concerns of many Discord users, who say they're already hunting for alternatives...
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inboxContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Discord lives up to its name
There's been a growing suspicion that age verification might come to Discord, ever since the service rolled out age checks in the UK and Australia last year. Back then, some users found cunning ways to circumvent the barriers imposed by the UK's Online Safety Act, like using Death Stranding's photo mode.
Sadly, that loophole was closed within a week, but it's likely to be a taste of things to come from March, given the widespread rage that greeted the news. In countless threads on Reddit, the reaction has been near-universal condemnation, with some even predicting the death of the messaging app.
"I categorically cannot trust tech companies with that kind of personal data," wrote one frustrated user, with many hoping they might be able to convince Discord to do a U-turn with enough public pressure. Others went further. "What a great way to kill your community," added another longtime user, while some predicted "that’s game over for Discord" and remarked ruefully that "privacy on the internet is truly dead".
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The latter gets to the heart of what many feel is wrong with these mandatory age verification checks. While governments say it's an essential tool to keep teens safe on the internet, many feel it oversteps the mark and does more harm than good, leading to compromised privacy and increased intrusion.
What's galling for many Discord users is that they've used the service for years, some since it launched over a decade ago in May 2015, and now feel their reward is being exposed to what feels like surveillance and privacy issues.
"My account has been around for 8 years, am I seriously gonna have to scan my face to prove I'm an adult?" said one popular Reddit response. Another added, "I am an adult and I am tired of being treated like a child on the internet", concluding that "I will not be uploading my face or ID to a database that I know is not secure enough to handle this".
What are the alternatives?
So what next? It isn't yet clear how Discord's age verification checks affected its user numbers in the UK and Australia last year, and it's possible the impact won't be anywhere near as dramatic as the many "RIP Discord" posts are predicting.
However, some users are clearly serious about leaving the popular messaging service. For many, Discord has replaced forums and become the default home of hobbyist communities. Some alternatives mentioned by leavers include TeamSpeak, Stoat (formerly Revolt), and Matrix, but they don't have anywhere near the scale or popularity of Discord.
Meanwhile, the likes of Signal and Slack either lack its community features or are more work-oriented. Quite simply, there isn't really a direct Discord alternative right now, but it's possible some rivals will seize the opportunity in the same way that Bluesky and Threads capitalized on misgivings about Twitter when it morphed into Elon Musk's X.
What's far less likely is a U-turn from Discord on age verification, despite the hopes of many. The decision follows a trend that started last year after the UK's Online Safety Act, which saw any sites hosting potentially 'harmful' content being forced to verify that users are over the 18. Lawmakers in the US and Europe have now followed suit, which means today's Discord furore will likely be the first of many similar incidents in 2026.
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Mark WilsonSocial Links NavigationSenior news editorMark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile.
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