Discord is about to find out how many of its users really want to admit they’re adults. Starting next month, the chat and digital hangout platform will roll out global age verification, automatically placing everyone into a “teen-appropriate” experience unless Discord’s systems can confidently tell they’re grown.
As the company explained in a press release, most adults won’t need to do anything. Discord will use an age inference model that looks at account tenure, device signals, and broad activity patterns (but notably not message content or private DMs) to guess whether a user is an adult. If the system isn’t sure, users will have to verify their age to unlock the full experience.
You’re more than welcome to remain unverified, but you will face some noticeable limits. Age-restricted servers and channels will be inaccessible, “stage” channels will be off-limits, sensitive content will be filtered, and DMs from unfamiliar users will be punted to a separate inbox. Servers you already belong to might be hidden behind a black screen until age verification is complete. This is all in an effort to ensure that adult spaces are now permanently gated.
It’s all a part of a broader push across the internet — the world, really — driven by new laws and child safety regulations enacted by nations in an effort to “protect kids,” an effort that sounds nice but can often be used as a backdoor to sneak in harsh, highly restrictive spy tools. Keep in mind, the definition of what is indecent is up to whoever is in charge at the highest levels of government, so vote wisely.
Discord tested similar systems last year in the UK and Australia, where users quickly (and briefly) found ways around them. The company says it fixed those loopholes and expects an ongoing cat-and-mouse game, which is expected with an app that is the default chat app for gamers of all ages, but especially teens.
Privacy concerns loom large, of course, especially after a former verification vendor suffered a data breach last year that exposed ID images. Discord says it has since switched vendors and redesigned its process. Users can verify via on-device facial age estimation or submit an ID to a third party, with documents deleted immediately after confirmation.
The post Discord Will Soon Assume You’re a Teenager Unless You Verify Your Age appeared first on VICE.
