Discord has announced that, in March 2026, it will begin rolling out what it calls
While Discord says the wide-reaching age verification requirements are intended to "reinforce its long-standing commitment to creating a safer and more inclusive experience," the rollout announcement has been met with privacy and surveillance concerns from users who—understandably—aren't thrilled by the idea of providing the platform with their sensitive, identifying information.
If you'd rather not let the app scan your face or ID, here's what will happen if you don't verify your age on Discord.
What happens if you don't complete Discord age verification?
When Discord implements teen-by-default settings worldwide in March 2026, all new and existing Discord accounts will be reclassified as teen accounts, forcing all users onto a new set of default settings that can only be changed after completing Discord's age verification process.
Those settings will restrict the kinds of content you can see, the channels you can participate in, and the people you can communicate with. It's important to note that these restrictions will apply both in public servers and in private DMs, even if it's just you and four friends in a group chat. Here's what you can expect
"Teen" Discord account limitations
- Mature and graphic images will be permanently blocked: Images containing graphic or explicit content will be blurred by
- Friend requests from unknown users will always produce a warning popup: The setting for disabling warning prompts for friend requests from unknown users will require age verification.
- No speaking on server stages: Speaking on What do you need to complete Discord age verification? Should you be worried about your privacy?
- Allow Discord to record a video of your face, which it will use to generate an age estimate
- Provide a picture of a government-issued ID and provide a selfie to match your ID
How willing you should be to provide that information is something we each have to determine for ourselves, but it's always worth exercising caution whenever you're asked to give identifying or private information—especially when it's being associated with your online account and its activity.
Depending which age verification method you use, Discord is either sending the analysis of your face recording or sending your government-issued ID and photo to one of its ID verification partners. Discord says video recordings are analyzed on-device and aren't sent elsewhere and that photos of ID are deleted "quickly," but there's already been at least one case where a
Ultimately, in providing your private information to Discord, you are taking a large company at its word that it will prioritize your privacy when it might be more profitable to skirt security safeguards, maintain valuable user data, or comply with private or state surveillance efforts. If those risks seem too great, it's worth considering an alternative chat application—or sticking to the new "teen" account privileges.
Discord says that some users may not have to complete the age verification process thanks to a new "age inference model" that will analyze your behavior on the platform to estimate your age. Even if you get to avoid scanning your face or your ID, you should keep in mind that your activity on the platform is nevertheless being analyzed.
