Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, is delaying its controversial age verification policy after users expressed significant concerns regarding their privacy. Originally slated for implementation in March, the global rollout of the age verification system has now been postponed until the second half of 2026. This announcement was made by Discord's Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy in a blog post released on a Tuesday.
Vishnevskiy acknowledged the backlash, stating, "Many of you are worried that this is just another big tech company finding new ways to collect your personal data." He recognized users' skepticism towards the tech industry, asserting that Discord's intentions were not to justify invasive solutions. Although Discord claims to have over 200 million active users, it recognizes the need to revise its initial policy unveiled in early February before proceeding with global implementation.
Initially, the company planned to incorporate face scanning and requests for ID uploads to verify user ages when it could not ascertain if they were adults. This aspect of the policy drew immediate criticism from users, particularly after a recent security breach involving a third-party service provider that exposed identity verification data of up to 70,000 users. Vishnevskiy referenced this incident, clarifying that Discord has terminated its relationship with the vendor in question and has put stringent security and privacy standards in place for any partners it may work with going forward.
In his blog, he assured users that all vendors are subjected to a security and privacy review prior to any integration. This includes strict contractual limits on data use as well as rigorous requirements for data retention and deletion. Information submitted for age verification is only stored for the minimum time necessary, often resulting in immediate deletion. He emphasized, "If a vendor doesn’t pass, we don’t work with them."
One of the vendors that did not meet Discord's standards was Persona, an identity verification service. A limited test with Persona was conducted exclusively in the United Kingdom in January, but the service failed to comply with Discord's requirement that facial age estimation be performed solely on-device, ensuring that biometric data never leaves the user's phone. This relationship drew additional criticism, particularly given Persona's backing by Founders Fund, an investment firm led by Peter Thiel, co-founder of Palantir Technologies. Both Thiel and Palantir have faced scrutiny for their government surveillance partnerships, including a recent agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Despite the backlash against the original policy and its revision, Vishnevskiy indicated that for over 90% of users, there would be no change. Discord can proactively estimate the ages of most users by analyzing account-level signals, such as account age, payment methods, server memberships, and general activity patterns. He clarified that Discord does not read private messages, analyze conversations, or examine account content to determine user ages.
For the minority of users whose ages Discord cannot ascertain, the company is exploring additional options beyond face scanning and ID requests, including credit card verification. Discord plans to "complete and expand" these alternatives before launching the new age verification system. Users who opt not to verify their age will retain access to their accounts, servers, friends lists, direct messages, and voice chat, but they will be unable to access age-restricted content or modify specific default safety settings aimed at protecting younger users.
To enhance transparency, Discord has promised to publish detailed explanations of its automatic age determination systems and will document all verification vendors and their practices on its website. This effort aims to build trust with users in light of recent criticisms.
