Discord delays global age verification rollout until late 2026

Discord will not introduce global age verification on its platform next month as previously planned.

In a blog post, the company said it is postponing the rollout to the second half of 2026.

"The way this landed, many of you walked away thinking we’re requiring face scans and ID uploads from everyone just to use Discord. 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,” said Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy.

Before the global launch, the platform plans to add more age-verification options, including credit cards. Discord will also publish documentation for each verification provider, introduce “spoiler channels” as an alternative to age-restricted channels, and release a technical blog post explaining how its age-estimation systems work.

In countries where local laws already require third-party verification, including the UK, Australia, and soon Brazil, adult users attempting to access age-restricted content will still need to confirm their age through providers such as k-ID.

The delay follows user backlash after Discord announced plans to default unverifiable accounts to a “teen-appropriate” mode. The company says the policy would affect only about 10% of accounts, as most users do not interact with age-restricted content, do not change default safety settings, or already have their age inferred by internal systems.

Some criticism was also fueled by a data breach at one of Discord’s customer support vendors last year, which exposed user information and ID scans. Discord says it structures work with external contractors so that accounts are not linked to identity data, and that contractors cannot associate such data with Discord accounts. The company has also ended cooperation with the vendor involved in the breach.