Discord’s controversial age verification saga has reached a new turning point. The original rollout plan has officially been canceled, with a new plan and more user-friendly options coming later in the year.
Discord announces big changes and delay to age verification requirement
Earlier this month, Discord faced significant pushback from its users after announcing plans for a global age verification rollout.
As originally communicated, starting in March Discord users would need to undergo a face scan or submit ID forms to continue having full access to the service. Until that verification was submitted, all users would be restricted to teen-level access.
Discord initially responded to the outcry with some key clarifications it failed to communicate at first. For example, it emphasized that many users never access the kind of adult-only spaces that would require age verification.
But today in a new blog post, co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy went much further.
Per the post, age verification will no longer be required in March. Instead, it’s being pushed to the second half of 2026.
More significant than the delay, though, is several key details changing that should make the eventual rollout far less controversial.
- 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.
- 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.
- A new spoiler channel option. We know many communities use age-restricted channels not for adult content, but for topics people prefer to engage with on their own terms: spoilers, politics, and heavier conversations. We’re building a dedicated spoiler channel option so communities don’t have to age-gate their server just to give members that choice.
- A technical blog post before global launch. We’ll publish a detailed post explaining how our automatic age determination systems work, including the signal categories and privacy constraints. So you can evaluate our approach for yourselves.
- Age assurance data in our transparency reports. We’ll include how many users were asked to verify, what methods they used, and how often our automated systems handled it without any user action.
Based on these changes, it seems likely that when Discord does finally require age verification from some users, it shouldn’t stir quite the reaction that the initial plan did.
What do you think of Discord’s announced changes coming to age verification? Let us know in the comments.
Best iPhone accessories
- AirPods Pro 3 (limited-time $229 price)
- 10-year AirTag battery case 2-pack
- MagSafe Car Mount for iPhone
- Apple’s new AirTag 2 (1-pack / 4-pack)
- 100W USB-C fast charging power adapter
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments