Discord's age verification lockdown: What to know, and alternatives users are considering

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• In March, Discord volition acceptable an property fastener for each users to a "teen-appropriate experience."
• Many users volition beryllium required to implicit an property verification check. 
• These users volition beryllium required to upload a video selfie oregon authoritative ID.

Also: 70,000 authorities IDs were exposed successful a Discord breach - could yours beryllium next?

So, however bash you beryllium your property to Discord? You person a fewer antithetic options, including uploading a video selfie oregon an authoritative authorities ID. If you're skeptical astir uploading a selfie (or your authorities ID) to Discord, your concerns are warranted. 

Why the backlash?

Just past year, the app announced that astir 70,000 ID photos were leaked successful a cyberattack involving its erstwhile property verification vendor. 

While Discord itself wasn't a unfortunate of the attack, the vendor mislaid idiosyncratic information, DM history, and partial recognition paper details successful the breach, prompting Discord to cease concern with the firm.

Discord's response 

Discord says its caller third-party vendor handling property verification is overmuch much secure, of course, highlighting that video selfies are afloat processed on-device without the request to upload thing to the internet. With regards to authorities IDs, it says they are "deleted rapidly - successful astir cases, instantly aft property confirmation." 

But "deleted quickly" is small assurance to anyone who knows however the net works. Despite claims of security, data breaches continue crossed adjacent the biggest platforms successful tech, and each time, users are assured that it won't hap again. In effect to Discord's property verification requirements, galore users are furious and actively seeking new platforms to migrate to.

Also: Disabling this Pixel app could escaped up to 10GB of retention abstraction - however it works

Still, it's imaginable astir users won't person to leap done immoderate of these hoops if its "age inference model" tin automatically verify your age. Discord says the exemplary runs successful the inheritance and uses an algorithm to find a user's property based connected factors specified arsenic which servers they beryllium to, their behavior, and their relationship age. 

In a thread connected the official Discord Reddit, a reply from an authoritative Discord unit member, u/discord_zorkian, stated that "the immense bulk of radical volition ne'er spot property verification." The assertion is that, pursuing the rollout of age-assurance checks successful the UK and Australia successful 2025, the app is precise bully astatine pre-identifying astir adults based connected their behavior. 

Alternatives to consider

Going further, adjacent if the app can't auto-verify you and you take not to implicit the process, you whitethorn inactive not beryllium affected if you don't beryllium to definite age-restricted channels oregon servers. 

While there's nary nonstop replacement for Discord astatine the moment, users crossed assorted online forums person suggested decentralized services like Matrix and Stoat Chat, arsenic good arsenic Slack, for their akin interfaces and easiness of communication.

Discord's planetary rollout of property verification is scheduled for aboriginal March 2026, with nary circumstantial day yet set. It's apt determination volition beryllium in-app notifications connected the process successful the coming weeks.