Discord Delays Global Age Verification to 2026 After Privacy Backlash

Discord announced Tuesday that it is postponing the global rollout of its age verification system until the second half of 2026, following weeks of criticism over privacy concerns and third-party data practices.

Earlier this month, the company said it would introduce “teen-by-default” settings beginning in March. Under that plan, all users would automatically be placed into a version of Discord designed for people under 16 until they verified they were adults. Those whose ages could not be determined would have been required to complete a facial age estimation or upload a government ID through vendor partners.

The proposal drew swift backlash. Users described the verification requirement as a “deal breaker,” and many began searching for alternatives. Just two weeks after the announcement, Discord confirmed the global rollout would be delayed. No specific launch date has been given beyond the second half of 2026.

In a Tuesday blog post, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Stanislav Vishnevskiy addressed the backlash directly.

“Let me be upfront: we knew this rollout was going to be controversial,” Vishnevskiy wrote. “Any time you introduce something that touches identity and verification, people are going to have strong feelings. Rightfully so. In hindsight, we should have provided more detail about our intentions and how the process works.”

Discord clarified that more than 90% of users — described as “90%+” — will never need to verify their age and can continue using the platform exactly as they do today. Less than 10% of users are expected to require manual age verification once the system is implemented.

The company, which reports more than 200 million monthly active users, relies on internal “age determination” systems that analyze account-level signals. These include how long an account has existed, whether a payment method is on file, the types of servers a user participates in, and general patterns of account activity. The company states that it does not read messages, analyze conversations, or examine posted content to estimate age.

Users who choose not to verify will retain access to their account, servers, friends list, direct messages, and voice chat. The only restriction will be access to age-restricted content and the ability to change certain default safety settings designed to protect teens.

Although the global rollout has been postponed, Discord will continue implementing age verification in countries where it is legally required, including Australia, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. The company is responding to new and expected rules governing young people’s access to social media in those countries, the European Union, and individual U.S. states.

Security incidents intensified concerns. In October, Discord disclosed that official ID photos of around 70,000 users, collected through a previous age-verification partnership, were likely exposed in a cyber-attack involving a third-party vendor used for age-related appeals. Discord says it no longer works with that vendor.

In addition, online researchers found that Persona, a company Discord partnered with in the UK for age verification, had left thousands of files exposed on the open internet. Discord said it conducted a limited test with Persona in the United Kingdom in January and that the test has concluded. According to Vishnevskiy, Persona did not meet Discord’s requirement that facial age estimation must be performed entirely on-device, meaning biometric data does not leave a user’s phone.

Persona is backed by Founders Fund, associated with Peter Thiel, chairman and co-founder of Palantir Technologies. Palantir has faced criticism for partnerships with U.S. immigration enforcement and other federal surveillance programs, and recently agreed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to streamline identifying and deporting individuals targeted by the agency. Discord distanced itself from Persona, stating the test was limited and had ended.

Vishnevskiy wrote that every verification vendor undergoes a security and privacy review before integration, including contractual limits on data use and strict retention and deletion requirements. Information submitted for age verification is stored only for the minimum time necessary and, in most cases, is deleted immediately.

Discord is also developing additional verification methods beyond facial estimation and government ID uploads. One option in development is credit card verification. The company says it will complete and expand alternative methods before scaling the system globally.

Ahead of the eventual 2026 rollout, Discord plans to publish documentation listing every verification vendor and their practices, clearly identify vendors within the product interface, release a detailed technical blog post explaining how its automatic age determination systems work — including signal categories and privacy constraints — and include age assurance data in its transparency reports. Those reports will detail how many users were asked to verify, which methods were used, and how often automated systems handled verification without user action.

The company is also building a dedicated spoiler channel option. Discord said many communities use age-restricted channels for spoilers, politics, or heavier discussions, not adult content. The new feature will provide a way to create spoiler-specific spaces without age-gating an entire server.

Discord’s growth has accelerated in recent years, particularly among online gamers who gather in invite-only servers for text, voice, and video chat. Since the pandemic, Vishnevskiy said, “the number of teenagers on Discord has significantly increased.” Reports indicate the company is planning to go public this year.

User skepticism remains visible. Alastair, also known as Eret, who hosts a Discord server with more than 60,000 users, told the BBC, “I do not trust them.”