You will have to prove your age to Discord soon if you want an 'adult' experience

Last month, we learned that Discord is filing for an initial public offering (IPO), banking on its strong user base of over 200 million monthly members. Now, it seems like these millions of users are facing a big change on the platform, with the company announcing new age assurance policies.

Starting from next month, everyone on Discord will default to a teen-appropriate experience globally. Communication settings will be automatically updated, sensitive content will be age-gated, and content filtering policies will be in effect. Adults who want to transition to a non-teen experience may be required to prove their age through various methodologies.

Two of the age verification methods include facial age estimation and submitting identification documents to partner vendors. For the former, Discord assures users that video selfies will not leave their devices, while for the latter, it guarantees that documents are deleted very quickly. In case of successful verification, an age group is assigned. However, if there are doubts in determining age, multiple verification methods may be used, with some to be revealed later. If you feel that your assigned age group is incorrect, you can appeal the decision and retry the age verification process. Regardless, it is worth noting that age verification status is private.

Speaking more about the default teen-only experience, sensitive content will be blurred, access to age-restricted channels, servers, and app commands will be gated, private messages from unknown users will be routed to a separate inbox, warning prompts will be shown for friend requests from users you may not know, and you will not be allowed to speak on stage in servers.

Keep in mind that Discord trialed this teen-only experience in the UK and Australia last year, and the fact that it is being rolled out globally in a staggered manner suggests that it was successful. That said, a major change this time around is the establishment of a "Teen Council," which is an advisory body that will act as a direct link between Discord and its teenage user base. It will consist of 10-12 teenagers, and you apply to join it by filling out the form available here.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Tuesday 10 February 2026 at 11:42 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of January) 461

RIP Matrix