San Francisco, CA — February 9, 2026 — Discord today announced a major update to how accounts on its platform are handled, rolling out teen-by-default safety settings globally beginning in early March. The move is part of the company’s effort to strengthen age-appropriate protections while balancing privacy and community engagement for its more than 200 million monthly users.
Under the new default configuration, all Discord users — new and existing — will be placed into a “teen-appropriate experience” unless they verify they are adults through an age assurance process. Until verified, users will encounter several restrictions designed to safeguard younger users.
🛡️ What the Teen-by-Default Settings Mean
Once the update launches, accounts that aren’t confirmed as adult will:
- Have sensitive content automatically filtered and blurred.
- Be blocked from accessing age-restricted channels, servers, or app features meant for adults.
- See messages from people they don’t know routed to a separate message request inbox.
- Receive warning prompts for incoming friend requests from unfamiliar users.
- Be unable to speak on “Stage” channels unless age-assured as adults.
These changes are designed to provide a safer baseline experience across Discord while still allowing verified adults full access to the platform’s features.
📅 How Age Verification Works
To lift restrictions, Discord offers several age-assurance options:
- Facial age estimation via a video selfie processed directly on the user’s device.
- Submission of a government-issued ID to trusted verification partners, with documents deleted quickly after verification.
- A new age inference model that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult without always needing active user verification.
Discord emphasizes that users’ age verification status is private and cannot be viewed by others, and that adults can appeal or retry the process at any time.
👥 Teen Council and Safety Ecosystem
Alongside the global rollout, Discord announced the launch of an inaugural Teen Council — a group of 10–12 teens who will help the company better understand how young people use the platform and what safety measures are most effective.
This initiative complements Discord’s broader safety efforts, including features like Family Center, Teen Safety Assist, and other tools aimed at helping users build meaningful connections while minimizing exposure to inappropriate content.
🧠 Industry Context
The global rollout comes after successful regional implementations in the UK and Australia and aligns with broader industry trends toward enhanced age verification and child safety measures across online platforms.
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