Discord is quietly rolling out a new age verification system, and let’s just say, it’s getting personal. If you’re in the UK or Australia, haven’t verified your age yet, and try to view sensitive content on the platform, you might be asked to prove your age… with a face scan or a photo of your ID.
What’s Going On?
Discord says this new system is an “experiment,” (always a comforting word when being asked for a face scan) but it’s clearly tied to some serious regulatory pressure.
As pointed out by The Verge, both the UK and Australia have been cracking down on how online platforms protect minors. The UK’s Online Safety Act and Australia’s recent legislation are pushing companies to add “robust” age gates, especially considering there’s a chance kids could stumble onto explicit content.
These new rules are aimed at making the internet less wild west, more PG-rated for younger users.
When Would You See It?
This one-time age check only pops up under two conditions:
- If you try to access something that’s been flagged by Discord’s sensitive content filter (think: NSFW).
- If you tinker with the filter settings to stop Discord from auto-blurring or blocking that content.
In either case, Discord will nudge you with a window asking for proof by either scanning your face with your device’s camera, or by uploading a photo of your government-issued ID via a QR code.
If you haven’t already verified your age with Discord, there’s no way around it. And yes, if the system thinks you look too young? You could get locked out.
Discord says you can retry or request a manual review if the bot gets it wrong and you’re banned by mistake. There’s an appeal process, but still, I’d rather not have a robot bouncer guessing whether or not I’m old enough to look at pixelated memes.
What About Privacy?
Understandably, a lot of users are wondering if Discord is storing their faces, and Discord is saying, no. The platform says all face scans are processed on your device and never uploaded. If you opt for the ID scan, it gets deleted right after your age is verified. None of it gets stored by Discord or its vendors.
Will This Come to Other Countries?
No word yet on whether this system is coming to the US or other parts of the world. Right now, it’s strictly UK and Australia, but depending on how things go (and how other governments respond), it’s not a stretch to think this could expand.
Depending on how it’s received, this could set a new precedent for age verification across the web. Get ready to show your digital ID or your face to access stuff you used to scroll past freely.
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