Discord announced earlier today that, beginning in March, all users across the planet will eventually need to be age-verified in order to access every feature and channel available on the platform.
Beginning in early March, and rolling out globally, every Discord account is going to be marked as "teen-appropriate" by default. Users who are older than that will need to upload either a face scan or some ID (via a third-party vendor) to have their full access restored.
Here's the important part of Discord's press release:
Discord is announcing enhanced teen safety features rolling out globally that reinforce its long-standing commitment to creating a safer and more inclusive experience for users over the age of 13. As part of this update, all new and existing users worldwide will have a teen-appropriate experience by default, with updated communication settings, restricted access to age-gated spaces, and content filtering that preserves the privacy and meaningful connections that define Discord.
Beginning with a phased global rollout to new and existing users in early March, users may be required to engage in an age-verification process to change certain settings or access sensitive content. This includes age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests.
It was only a few months back, in October 2025, that the photos and personal details of around 70,000 users were hacked on Discord. Of that number 68,000 were from Australia, where last year a teen social media ban was put in place, restricting the use of many platforms to those aged 16 and over.
Robert Booth
As an Australian and a parent of kids affected by the ban, do you know how easy those restrictions were to get around? Let's just say I know more 14-15 year-old kids who passed the photo-based age check than failed. And for their troubles, those who verified their ID the “right” way got their details leaked.
Now Discord want to subject every user on the planet to the same thing? Asking millions and millions of adult users to jump through some hoops and put our trust in third-party ID vendors that in the wake of very recent events absolutely do not deserve our trust? Great, cool, good job.
