Discord has delayed its global age verification rollout from March to the second half of 2026 following heavy user backlash earlier this month regarding the company’s initial plan.
The decision comes after Discord’s initial plan to place all users into a “teen-appropriate experience” by default until they verified their age as adults was met with significant criticism. Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy acknowledged that the company failed to clearly communicate its intentions, stating, “The way this landed, many of you walked away thinking we’re requiring face scans and ID uploads from everyone just to use Discord.” Vishnevskiy further explained, “That’s not what’s happening, but the fact that so many people believe it tells us we failed at our most basic job: clearly explaining what we’re doing and why.”
Discord clarified that 90% of users will not need to verify their age as they do not engage with age-restricted content and the company’s internal safety systems can already determine the age of many adult users. These internal systems analyze various signals such as account age, the presence of payment methods, and server membership history. Vishnevskiy noted, “Let me be upfront: we knew this rollout was going to be controversial. Any time you introduce something that touches identity and verification, people are going to have strong feelings. Rightfully so.”
For the remaining 10% of users who will require verification, Discord plans to introduce additional methods beyond the previously stated options of facial age estimation or ID submission to third-party vendors. The company now intends to offer credit card verification as an alternative method. Discord will expand the rollout globally only after implementing these new options.
Users who decline to verify will retain their accounts, servers, friends lists, direct messages, and voice chat access. According to Vishnevskiy, the only changes for non-verified users will be the inability to access age-restricted content and the inability to change certain default safety settings designed to protect teens.
Discord is also changing how it handles vendor data and privacy. The company plans to publish information on its website detailing the data practices of each verification vendor and will clearly identify which vendor is being used in specific regions. Furthermore, Discord stated it will only partner with vendors that perform the age-verification process entirely on the user’s device, meaning data is not sent to external servers.
This policy shift follows criticism regarding Discord’s previous partnership with Persona, a vendor backed by an investment firm co-founded by Peter Thiel. Thiel serves as chairman and co-founder of Palantir, a company known for its work with U.S. immigration enforcement and federal surveillance programs. Persona has also faced criticism for its use of third-party data and government partnerships. Discord addressed these concerns by stating it “ran a limited test of Persona in the UK where age assurance had previously launched and that test has since concluded.”
Additionally, Discord faced scrutiny following an incident disclosed in October of last year. The company revealed that approximately 70,000 users may have had sensitive data, including government ID photos, exposed due to a breach of a third-party age-verification vendor. Discord confirmed that it no longer works with the vendor involved in that security breach.
