Messaging platform Discord will introduce mandatory age verification for users worldwide from early March, automatically placing accounts into a “teen-appropriate” experience unless adulthood can be confirmed, as the company tightens access to age-restricted content and features.

The San Francisco-based platform said on Monday that the change would apply to new and existing users globally, expanding systems already in place in the UK and Australia. Accounts that are not verified as adult will be blocked from age-gated servers and channels, prevented from speaking in livestream-style stage channels, and shown stricter filters on content detected as graphic or sensitive.

Savannah Badalich, Discord’s global head of product policy, told The Verge that most adult users would not need to complete a formal age check because the company’s systems infer age using account-level signals rather than message content. “For most adults, age verification won’t be required,” she said, adding that the model relies on factors such as account tenure, device information and high-level activity patterns.

According to Discord, users whose age cannot be inferred will be asked to verify through facial age estimation or by submitting an identity document to a third-party provider. Badalich told The Verge that video selfies used for estimation “never leave the user’s device”, while images of identity documents are deleted quickly after verification. She added: “We’re not doing biometric scanning or facial recognition. We’re doing facial estimation.”

The company said unverified users will continue to access standard direct messages and non-age-restricted servers, but age-gated spaces they previously joined will be obscured until verification is completed. New age-restricted servers will also be inaccessible without confirmation of adulthood.

Discord positioned the move as part of a wider push on online child safety, as governments in multiple jurisdictions require platforms hosting adult material to check users’ ages. In a company statement accompanying the announcement, Badalich said: “Rolling out teen-by-default settings globally builds on Discord’s existing safety architecture, giving teens strong protections while allowing verified adults flexibility.”

Privacy concerns remain a potential risk for the platform. One of Discord’s former age verification vendors suffered a data breach last year that exposed user verification data, including images of government IDs. Badalich said the company stopped working with that provider immediately and has since switched vendors.

The company acknowledged that some adult users may choose not to verify and could leave the service as a result. “We do expect that there will be some sort of hit there,” Badalich told The Verge, adding that Discord was factoring potential user losses into its planning.

Discord, founded in 2015 and reporting more than 200 million registered users, is preparing for a public listing and has faced increasing scrutiny over safety and moderation standards.

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