We currently only prompt users to age-assure when they are in the Discord app and trying to access age-restricted servers, channels, blurred sensitive content or to update specific safety settings.
We do not send emails or text messages about our age assurance process or results.
Age assurance helps Discord provide you with an age-appropriate experience, such as managing default settings and controlling what sensitive content you see on our platform(more on when age assurance is required below). This is a one-time process, so once we have your verified age group, you don’t need to verify again.
What this article covers:
How to Complete Age Assurance
Important: Users in regions with regional restrictions may have to complete age assurance before accessing certain features or content. Please refer to the article below that corresponds to your region for further details.
Discord and its trusted partners do not permanently store personal identity documents or your video selfies. Identity documents submitted to our vendors are deleted quickly, and the video selfie used for facial age estimation never leaves your device.
The age assurance process is the same, regardless of how it's triggered:
Step 1: Start Age Assurance
You'll see a prompt asking you to verify your age if you haven't done so already.
Example of Verify age group window
Step 2: Choose Your Age Assurance Method
A "We need to verify your age" window will appear with two options (this is a growing toolkit and we are working to include more ways for you to confirm your age:
Option 1: Face Scan
- Select Take a selfie on the verification page.
- Allow access to your camera when prompted.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to take a video selfie
- Press Done to submit.
Option 2: Scan ID
- Select Use your ID on the verification page.
- Use your mobile device to scan the QR code.
- Take a clear photo of your government-issued ID following the guidelines on screen:
- Make sure you are in a well-lit area
- Place ID on flat dark surface
- Make sure all corners of the ID are visible
- Take a selfie to match your ID document by following the guidelines on screen:
- Make sure you are in a well-lit area
- Remove any headwear
- Keep your glasses on
- Press Done to submit.
Take a selfie and Use your ID options in the Age Assurance window
Step 3: Confirmation
After completing the age check, you'll receive system messages about the confirmation process and a Direct Message from Discord's official profile confirming your determined age group.
Example of direct message (DM) notification from Discord confirming your age group status
If Age Assurance Fails
If the age assurance fails, you can retry through the ID scan option at any time.
If you are confirmed as under the minimum required age in your country, your account will be banned. If this is incorrect and you want to appeal, please follow instructions here to go through the ID scan option to verify your date of birth.
Privacy-Forward Age Assurance Process
Key privacy protections of our age-assurance approach include:
- On-device processing: Video selfies for facial age estimation never leave a user’s device
- Quick deletion: Identity documents submitted to our vendors are deleted quickly—in most cases, immediately after age confirmation.
- Straightforward age assurance: In most cases, users complete the process once and their Discord experience adapts to their verified age group. Users may be asked to use multiple methods only when more information is needed to assign an age group.
- Private status: A user's age assurance status is only available to that user and cannot be seen by others.
How to See Your Confirmed Age Group
If you’ve already completed age assurance, you can go to your My Account page in your User Settings to see your verified age group. If you believe you’ve been incorrectly verified into the teen age group, you can choose to re-verify in this settings page.
If you haven’t completed age assurance, you will see Unverified under Age Group. You can then complete the age assurance process by pressing the Verify button.
Age Group field in Account Settings
Frequently Asked Questions
In this FAQ section, we’ll cover:
- Getting Started with Age Assurance
- Content Filtering and Age Assurance
- Privacy and Data Security
- Troubleshooting and Support
- Age Prediction
Getting Started with Age Assurance
Q: When do I need to verify my age on Discord?
A: If you have not verified your age group yet, you may be asked to do so the first time you encounter any of these situations:
1. When attempting to unblur sensitive content blocked by our Sensitive Media Filter.
2. When attempting to change the default settings for the Sensitive Media Filter.
3. When attempting to change your Message Request settings.
4. When trying to access an age-restricted (18+) channel.
All new and existing UK and Australian accounts will experience new default settings designed to create a more age-appropriate experience by default. That means all UK and Australian users will be asked to verify their age when they encounter these above situations.
Q: How many times will I need to verify my age?
A: Age assurance is a one-time process. Once your age group is confirmed, you won't need to verify again when accessing age-restricted features.
Content Filtering and Age Assurance
Q: What happens when I encounter sensitive content?
A: If you come across blurred content that was flagged by our sensitive media filter, you will need to age-verify as an adult before viewing and unblurring it.
Q: Do I need to verify my age multiple times to turn off the Sensitive Media Filter?
A: No. Age assurance is a one-time process. Once your age group is confirmed, you won't need to verify again when you attempt to access an age-restricted feature. However, if you believe your age group is incorrectly verified, you may retry the age assurance process again.
Q: Do I need to verify my age to change content filter settings?
A: Yes. Sensitive content filter settings are set by default to:
- Direct Messages From Friends: Blur
- Direct Messages from Others: Block
- Direct Messages in Server Channels: Blur
Changing any of these to “Show” will require age assurance.
Q: Do I need to verify my age to adjust Message Request settings?
A: Yes. Attempting to turn off Message Requests may trigger age assurance.
Q: Is age assurance required for age-restricted (18+) channels?
A: Yes. Age assurance is required before entering channels or servers marked as age-restricted.
Privacy and Data Security
Q: Is my data stored when I use Face Scan or Scan ID verification?
A: Discord and its trusted partners do not permanently store personal identity documents or your video selfies. Identity documents submitted to our vendors are deleted quickly, and the video selfie used for facial age estimation never leaves your device.
Q: How does Discord use this data?
A: We only get your age from the ID verification process and an estimated age range from Facial Age Estimation. We use this information for safety purposes and to help us deliver age appropriate experiences on Discord. We will not use your age assurance information to target you with advertisements, and we don't sell your data. You can control how we use your data.
Q: How is my age group data safe on Discord?
A: Discord’s age assurance experience was designed to respect user privacy. We are partnering with dedicated age assurance vendors who specialize in performing these age checks in a privacy-forward way. These vendors were not involved in the September 2025 data breach of our customer service agent.
Our vendors perform these age checks in a way to minimize the data collected and stored. For FAE, the video selfie is processed on device and never stored. IDs are processed to get your age only and then deleted. Your identity is never associated with your Discord account.
Q: What are you getting from my ID or facial age estimation? What personal information do you receive?
A: Discord only gets your age. That’s it. Your identity is never associated with your account.
Troubleshooting and Support
Q: What if my age group is incorrect?
A: If you believe you were incorrectly verified into the teen age group, you may retry the age assurance process.
Q: What happens if my age group is verified incorrectly or it fails to confirm?
A: If you believe you were incorrectly confirmed as a teen, you may retry the age check through your chat with Discord system messages where you can select Retry to enter the verification flow again. You can also go to your User Settings > My Account and press Retry located to the right of the Age Group field.
If you were banned after being incorrectly confirmed as under the minimum age requirement and want to appeal, please follow instructions here to use the ID scan option to verify your date of birth.
Q: How long does the age assurance process take?
A: The age assurance process typically takes just a few minutes. You'll receive notifications about the status and a DM from Discord's official profile once completed.
Example of DM notification from Discord confirming your age assurance status
Q: What happens if I’m banned after age assurance?
A: Your account may be banned if your age is below the minimum requirement. If you were banned due to being incorrectly verified as under the minimum age requirement and want to appeal, please follow instructions here to use the ID scan option to verify your date of birth.
Age Prediction
Q: How does the age inference model work?
A: We leverage an advanced machine learning model developed at Discord to predict whether a user falls into a particular age group based on patterns of user behavior and several other signals associated with their account on Discord. We only use these signals to assign users to an age group when our confidence level is high; when it isn't, users go through our standard age assurance flow to confirm their age. We do not use your message content in the age estimation model.