The messaging platform Discord announced on Monday that all user accounts will automatically be set to teen safety settings starting in March. The App which boasts over 200 million active users globally each month, will impose restrictions on adult content and areas after Discord Announces Age & Face ID Verification. To access these sections of Discord or modify related settings, users must verify their age on Discord.
If the platform has independently determined that an account is likely to belong to an adult, the user will be exempt from the age assurance process. Discord plans to utilise the third-party verification service k-ID for age and identification verification and will depend on an inference model that incorporates hundreds of signals, such as account tenure and activity data, to accurately ascertain the age of an account holder.
Discord Announces Age & Face ID Verification
Discord is introducing improved safety features for teenagers that will be implemented globally, reinforcing its enduring commitment to fostering a safer and more inclusive environment for users aged 13 and above.
This update ensures that all new and existing users around the world will experience a teen-appropriate environment by default, which includes updated communication settings, limited access to age-restricted areas, and content filtering that maintains the privacy and meaningful connections that characterise Discord.
Commencing with a phased global rollout for both new and existing users in early March, users may need to undergo an Discord age-verification process to modify certain settings or access sensitive content. This encompasses age-restricted channels, servers, or commands, as well as specific message requests.
Why are these New Discord ID Verification Rules Introduced?
The new policy has been introduced after the ongoing pressure on social media platforms to enhance safety measures for minors. In 2025, a lawsuit was filed against Discord and the gaming platform Roblox, claiming that the two platforms together fostered a “breeding ground for predators.”
Central to the lawsuit is an anonymous 11-year-old girl who was reportedly groomed, sexually exploited, and raped by an individual who utilised Roblox and Discord for communication with her.
Towards the end of 2025, the platform unveiled a hub that enables parents or guardians to monitor the top five users a teenager has messaged and called, the servers they have messaged most often, their total voice and video call minutes, as well as all purchases made.
Age-restricted content and experiences on Discord
Badalich mentioned that while Discord will implement teen safety settings for all users by default, the platform will proactively evaluate accounts that appear to belong to adults, allowing them to access age-restricted content and features. Although Discord aims to minimise false positives, Badalich did not express confidence in the platform’s ability to accurately determine user age.
Starting in March, any user with an unverified age or whose account is under teen settings will be required to either provide an ID or undergo the facial estimation process to gain full access to Discord. Only adults will have the ability to unblur sensitive content, disable the setting, access age-restricted channels and servers, receive message requests directly, rather than in a separate inbox, and speak on a “stage” within a Discord server.
Age verification on Discord
Discord came with age assurance measures in the UK and Australia last year, albeit facing some challenges. In the UK, certain users initially circumvented the age verification requirement by providing a lifelike selfie of a video game character, which was classified as adult. Badalich informed that Discord and k-ID worked “diligently” to address that vulnerability, and that this experience has shaped its future age assurance initiatives.
