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Following an October 2025 data leak that exposed around 70,000 users’ government-ID photos exposed, Discord announced it will require users to share a government ID or video selfie to remove teen-by-default limitations and age-gated limitations. It will enforce the new restrictions starting in early March 2026, though an exact date for the rollout wasn’t set. It also noted that while there will be verification requests, there will also be an “age inference model” system and multiple forms of identification required in some case.
Discord explained what people can expect if they choose not to provide a video selfie or give the unnamed “vendor partners” access to government-ID data to remove the teen-by-default age-gated restrictions. Some servers and channels will become inaccessible. You won’t be able to speak on server stages. Sensitive content will be blurred. Direct messages will also be affected, with friend request alerts appearing for unknown individuals and some messages from those kinds of individuals heading to a different inbox.
The announcement also included some details about how Discord will handle the data it acquires from this verification process. If someone would use the selfie approach, the announcement noted, “Video selfies for facial age estimation never leave a user’s device.” It claimed the vendor partners would delete images of IDs “quickly — in most cases, immediately after age confirmation.” However, it didn’t name the partners, so it is not possible to check with these third-parties to determine their official protocol.
As a reminder, the last Discord data leak in October 2025 didn’t just involve government-ID information. It also potentially allowed other individuals to see your name, your user name, your email and contact information, your IP address, your Discord purchase history, what payment type you used, and the last four digits of the credit card used with Discord. Passwords, messages that didn’t involve customer support, and credit card full numbers and CCVs remained private.
The Discord teen-by-default age-gated limitations that will require video selfies or government-ID sharing to remove will take effect in early March 2026.
