We've seen some questions about our age assurance update and we want to share more clarity. We know how important these changes are to our community.
- For 90%+ of users, nothing changes.
Most users never access age-restricted content or change their default safety settings. For those who do, we have an internal system that determines your age using account-level signals — like how long your account has existed, whether you have a payment method on file, and general patterns of account activity. It does not read your messages, analyze your conversations, or look at the content you post.
- If you're among the less than 10% of users who do need to verify, we'll give you options — designed to tell us only your age and never your identity.
And if you choose not to verify, here's exactly what happens: you keep your account, your servers, your friends list, your DMs, and voice chat. The only thing that changes is you won't be able to access age-restricted content or change certain default safety settings designed to protect teens. Nothing else about your Discord experience changes.
- We're adding more verification options.
We already had alternatives in development, including credit card verification. We'll complete and expand those before scaling globally so you have more options you're comfortable with.
- We're committed to vendor transparency.
We'll document every verification vendor and their practices on our website, and make it clear in the product who each vendor is. We've also set a new requirement: any partner offering facial age estimation must perform it entirely on-device. If they don't meet that bar, we won't work with them.
📋 To learn more about this update, please read our latest blog post here.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will I need to age assure to continue using Discord?
- When do I need to go through age assurance?
- What happens if I choose not to verify?
- How does Discord use this data?
- How does Facial Age Estimation ("video selfie") work?
- How is my age group data safe on Discord?
- What are you getting from my ID or facial age estimation? What personal information do you receive?
- How does the age inference model work?
- Which vendors does Discord work with for age verification?
- How do content safety filters work?
Will I Need To Age Assure To Continue Using Discord?
No. Over 90% of users can continue using Discord exactly as they do today, without ever being asked to confirm their age. In a minority of cases when additional confirmation is required, we will offer multiple privacy-forward options through trusted partners.
When Do I Need To Go Through Age Assurance?
You must be a confirmed adult to access age-restricted content and experiences such as age-restricted servers and channels, or to modify certain safety settings.
The majority of Discord users don't access age-restricted content and will never go through an age assurance process. In the minority of cases where we cannot confirm you as an adult and you want to access age-restricted areas and settings, you will be asked to go through additional steps.
What Happens If I Choose Not To Verify?
If you choose not to verify your age, your Discord experience stays largely the same. You keep your account, your servers, your friends list, your DMs, and voice chat. The only change is that you won't be able to access age-restricted content or modify certain default safety settings designed to protect teens
How Does Discord Use This Data?
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.
How Does Facial Age Estimation ("Video Selfie") Work?
If you choose Facial Age Estimation, you'll be prompted to record a short video selfie of your face. The Facial Age Estimation technology runs entirely on your device in real time when you are performing the verification. That means facial scans never leave your device, and Discord and vendors never receive them. We only receive your age group.
How Is My Age Group Data Safe On Discord?
Discord's age assurance experience was designed to respect user privacy. We partner with dedicated age assurance vendors who specialize in performing these verifications in a privacy-forward way.
Every vendor we work with goes through a security and privacy review before integration, including contractual limits on data use and strict retention and deletion requirements. These vendors were not involved in the September 2025 security incident involving our third-party customer service provider, and we no longer work with that provider.
Our vendors perform verifications in a way that minimizes the data collected and stored. For Facial Age Estimation, 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.
What Are You Getting From My ID Or Facial Age Estimation? What Personal Information Do You Receive?
Discord only gets your age. That's it. Your identity is never associated with your account. The vendor that handles verification has no way to associate your identity back to your Discord account — that's by design.
How Does The Age Inference Model Work?
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 — such as how long your account has existed, whether you have a payment method on file, what types of servers you're in, and general patterns of account activity.
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 or analyze your conversations in the age estimation model.
We will publish a detailed technical blog post explaining this system — including all signal categories and privacy constraints — before we expand globally, so you can evaluate our approach for yourself.
Which Vendors Does Discord Work With For Age Verification?
We are committed to full transparency about our verification partners. We will document every verification vendor we work with on our website, including their data handling practices, so you don't have to guess who's handling your information.
We also offer — and will continue to expand — multiple verification options directly in the product, so you can see who each vendor is, what method they use, and how they handle your data, and make an informed decision about which option you're most comfortable with. Additional options, including credit card verification, are in development and will be available before we expand globally.
In countries with existing age verification laws — such as the UK, Australia, and Brazil — we work with approved vendors such as k-ID to meet local legal requirements.
How Do Content Safety Filters Work?
Discord's content safety filters are part of our broader Teen Safety Assist and safety-by-default approach. They help reduce exposure to certain categories of potentially sensitive image-based media, especially for teens.
Mature Sexual Media Filter: Helps identify visual media that may contain sexually explicit or suggestive material involving adults.
Graphic Media Filter: Helps identify image-based media that may contain violent or potentially disturbing visual material.
These filters apply only to images and videos. They do not scan text messages, voice, or calls, and they are designed to support age-appropriate experiences while preserving private conversations.
📋 To learn more about this update, please read our latest blog post here.