Popular messaging platform Discord is reintroducing age verification for all users, the brand announced on Tuesday.
In a new Policy & Safety memo titled “Safer for Teens, Same Discord for Adults,” Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy detailed the changes alongside the brand’s approved verification methods — this time, with options beyond formal identification and selfies.
“In February, after listening to your feedback, I shared that we were delaying our announced plans for global age assurance,” Vishnevskiy’s update starts. “I promised we’d come back in the second half of the year with a more transparent, clearer path forward, with less friction. Here’s where we landed.”
Discord’s controversial “age assurance” settings, revealed last February, were quickly shelved after fans sounded the alarm over the platform’s new government ID and face-scan requirements. In its February announcement, Discord shared that age verification would be required for all platform users the following month.
Discord co-founder and CTO breaks down renewed age verification settings
Starting Wednesday, September 23, Discord will “automatically place” users in an age group based on “account signals” like account age and “the kinds of servers you’re part of.”
“We use multiple account signals to determine age groups at an accuracy level matching what’s possible with biometrics. No single server determines your age group, and we don’t look at your messages, calls, or other content to decide which age group you’re in.”
Vishnevskiy adds that users can see their Discord age group by heading to Account Status, found in User Settings. For those in the Adult Age Group, “nothing changes,” while those in the Teen Age Group “have additional protections” and no access to content settings.
Unconfirmed users, to whom Discord is unable to assign an arbitrary age group, will not have access to some adult content settings until they’ve verified their age. If this is you, go to Account Status in your User Settings to confirm your age.
Discord also introduced new age assurance options beyond the facial age estimation and ID scans proposed in February. Platform users can confirm their age by inputting credit card information, allowing Apple App Store or Google Play Store to share your age range, connecting the ID in Google Wallet, or using an AgeKey. Users can ‘pick whichever option [they’re] most comfortable with,” says Vishnevskiy.
Discord shares ‘conditions’ met ahead of age-check relaunch
Vishnevskiy also shared status updates on the “conditions” Discord set for itself in February, goals the brand maintained it must meet before its age verification strategy goes global.
“We committed to publicly documenting every third-party age assurance vendor and make it clear who each vendor is and what their practices are, including what data they handle and how long they keep it. We’ve done this,” Vishnevskiy said, sharing a link to the brand’s “Age Assurance on Discord: Vendors, Methods, and Your Data” page.
The Discord co-owner shared a link to a technical explanation of its age-estimation model — another part of its February promise — touched on the “dedicated spoiler channel option” introduced earlier this year, and confirmed the presence of age assurance data in brand transparency reports.
“Previously, I said trust is earned through actions, not posts,” Vishnevskiy said. “This launch is where you hold us to that. We’ll get some things wrong, but you can judge us on how we respond: how accurate the age group estimation gets, how fast we fix bad calls, and whether we keep publishing the data so you don’t have to take my word for it. That’s how we earn your trust.”
This is a developing story. Stay glued to Outrun Gaming for more information as it becomes available.
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