Not Age-Verified On Discord? You'll Be Moved To A Teen Account Next Month

Not Age-Verified on Discord? You’ll Be Moved to a Teen Account Next Month

Last updated: 2026/02/10 at 2:36 AM

News Room Published 10 February 2026

Age verification will become mandatory for all Discord users who want to keep full access to the gaming-focused messaging platform.

Discord announced on Monday that it will move all accounts to “teen-by-default” settings to create “a safer and more inclusive experience” for those ages 13 to 18. It’ll apply to new and existing users from early March; Discord hasn’t confirmed an exact launch date yet.

Select communities are age-gated by default, and some content won’t be available until you prove you’re an adult. It will also enforce content filters for select multimedia thought to be sensitive, and you won’t be able to unblur images until you confirm your identity.

Other restrictions include a warning when a friend request arrives from someone Discord believes you may not know. It will also reroute messages from users you haven’t previously connected with to a separate inbox.

Similar rules designed to protect younger users have been in place in other markets, such as Australia and the UK, but Discord is now bringing these restrictions to its global userbase of over 200 million people.

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To confirm you’re an adult, you have two options: Use Discord’s built-in facial age estimation features by recording a video selfie; or submit a form of government identification to one of Discord’s partners. Discord also says it’s working on further methods it may introduce later.

Discord says it is safe to share your information, but this comes after 70,000 government IDs were exposed in a Discord breach last fall. The brand said it used that breach to review its security controls in an effort to stop it from happening again, but you might want to do the video selfie option, which are processed on-device, Discord says. If you opt for the government ID method, Discord says it’s making sure partners delete documentation “quickly,” with many removing them immediately after confirming your age.