Discord boosts teen safety with new age verification measures

New Delhi: Discord is now getting more strict in its rules around age verification and teen safety. From Next month, the users who do not confirm their age using the face scan or an ID might see their accounts restricted. The change will roll out in phases and will apply to both the latest and existing users. Until the age verification is completed, the users will be placed under stricter default settings, limiting access to certain features and content as part of Discord’s broader push to make the platform safer for the younger users.

This latest update is part of the latest teen by default approach. Under this system, all of the users will initially be placed in the safer age-appropriate environment. To unlock certain features or access sensitive content, users might be asked to confirm that they are adults. This will include access to age-restricted channels, servers, application commands, and some message settings. Discord has also stated that users will be able to verify their age in a few ways. One option is facial age estimation, which uses a short video selfie processed directly on the user’s device. Another option is submitting a government-issued ID through Discord’s verification partners.

Discord has also added that they are going to launch an age inference system that will run in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult. Users might to be asked to complete more than one verification step if the system needs additional confirmation. Privacy protection is built directly into the age verification process. It also clarified that age verification requests will appear only in the Discord application, not through email or text message. Discord is changing the default safety settings for all users.

Sensitive content will be blurred unless users are verified as adults. Only verified adults will be able to access age-gated spaces, speak on stage in servers, or change certain direct message settings. Messages from users might not know will be routed to a separate inbox by default, and the users will see warning prompts when receiving friend requests from unfamiliar accounts. Teen safety will remains the main priority of the company, and the update builds on existing protection. Discord had earlier rolled out similar settings in the UK and Australia and is now expanding the approach to users globally.