Popular gaming messenger platform Discord announced the introduction of a new confidentiality policy, set to roll out in March 2026, which will temporarily apply «teen-by-default» settings to all users, regardless of their location or age, restricting access to adult content.
In recent years, Discord has faced criticism for hosting a large number of controversial communities and poorly moderated content that attracts underage users.
Once the update rolls out, users may be required to verify their age. The options include submitting a form of identification or a selfie for facial age estimation to lift the restrictions. Previously, this measure was limited to the U.K. and Australia, but it is now planned for a global rollout. Additionally, Discord will launch a background system to automatically determine whether a user is an adult.
If a user’s age is not confirmed, sensitive content will be blurred, access to age-restricted channels will be unavailable, messages from unknown users will be received in a separate inbox and stage channels will be unavailable.
«We design our products with teen safety principles at the core and will continue working with safety experts, policymakers, and Discord users to support meaningful, long term wellbeing for teens on the platform,» Savannah Badalich, Head of Product Policy at Discord, said in a statement.
Previously, Kursiv.media reported that Telegram founder Pavel Durov sharply criticized the Spanish government’s recent initiative that would ban children under 16 from using social media, warning that measures presented as child protection could undermine freedom of speech and user privacy.
