Discord to launch global teen-by-default safety settings and age verification in March 2026
ByAyaan Zaveri•Youth Protection
Discord to launch global teen-by-default safety settings and age verification in March 2026
- Discord's global rollout starting in March 2026 introduces "teen-by-default" safety settings and a comprehensive age verification process to protect minors online discord.com+13.
- All accounts will automatically be set to a "teen-appropriate experience" unless verified as adults, with content filters and restricted access for unverified users discord.com+11.
- Unverified users face limitations such as blurred sensitive content, restricted access to age-gated channels, filtered message requests, and limitations on interactive features like Stage channels discord.com+5.
- Age verification relies on facial age estimation via on-device video selfies and government-issued ID uploads, both designed to respect user privacy and delete data promptly discord.com+5.
- Discord's privacy emphasis includes processing video selfies on-device and immediately deleting ID documents, though past data breaches have raised concerns about data security discord.com+6.
- The platform's policies align with industry trends among Roblox, YouTube, Meta, and TikTok, amid growing legal scrutiny to enhance child safety online techcrunch.com+6.
- Future initiatives include forming a "Teen Council" of teenagers aged 13 to 17 to inform platform improvements and better address the needs of younger users engadget.com.
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