Discord has postponed its age verification rollout to the second half of 2026.
Two weeks ago, social and gaming platform Discord announced plans to introduce widespread age verification for users–a move that many understandably pushed back against due to privacy concerns, particularly in light of Discord’s major data breach last year.
Following the backlash, the platform released a statement from co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy in an effort to provide greater transparency. As part of this response, the rollout of age verification has been postponed until the latter half of the year.
Discord outlined several changes to the process. The platform plans to introduce additional verification options, document every verification vendor and their data-handling practices on its website, include age assurance data in its transparency report, and create a new spoiler channel feature. This new option will allow users to lock sensitive topics (not necessarily NSFW) behind designated channels without triggering age verification prompts.
Discord breaks down upcoming age verification process
Discord, originally founded in 2015, has risen to prominence within the gaming industry and now boasts over 200 million monthly active users. With the new system on the horizon, the company has confirmed that 90% of current users will not be required to complete age verification, and can continue using the platform as usual.
Instead, these users will be assessed through an internal system that considers factors 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.”
Vishnevskiy emphasised that this system does not read personal messages, analyse conversations, or review posted content. While some may remain sceptical of these assurances, the company has promised to release a more detailed explanation of its methodology before the global launch.
The remaining 10% of users–roughly 65 million registered users–who are required to verify their age will be given multiple options and, in most cases, will only need to submit their age without providing official identification. However, the exact process will depend on national regulations. Certain countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, have passed laws requiring facial age scans or ID verification.
Users may also choose not to verify their age. Doing so will only limit access to age-restricted content or adjust certain default safety settings designed to protect younger users. Aside from these changes, Discord maintains that the overall experience will remain the same.
Once verified, a user’s age group will remain private and will not be visible to others.
Discord promises transparency over third-party vendors
Discord has stated that it will not store users’ personal data directly. Instead, third-party vendors will “handle verification and only pass back your age group.” Nevertheless, some concerns remain, as involving third parties can still present potential risks of data leaks.
To address this, Discord has pledged greater transparency. The company plans to “document every verification vendor we work with on our website, including their data handling practices,” and to “offer multiple verification vendors and make it clear directly in the product who each vendor is, what method they use, and how they handle your data,” allowing users to make informed decisions about the verification process.
Further details about Discord’s age verification process are expected ahead of its global rollout.
