Discord will begin requiring age verification for all users worldwide starting in March 2026, marking one of the most sweeping policy changes in the platform’s history.

The company announced on February 9 that every account — both existing and new — will be placed into a “teen-appropriate” experience by default. Until a user’s age is confirmed, access to age-restricted content, channels and certain communication features will remain limited.

The move, Discord says, is designed to expand safety protections while maintaining user privacy and community engagement. Savannah Badalich, Discord’s Head of Product Policy, said the shift builds on safeguards already in place.

“We design our products with teen safety principles at the core,” she said, describing the new settings as an extension rather than a departure from existing moderation tools.

Under the updated system, users may be asked to verify their age either through facial age estimation or by submitting a government-issued identification document to external vendor partners. Discord stated that verification data will be handled with privacy protections in place.

For facial checks, video selfies will be processed on-device for age estimation. When identification documents are submitted to vendor partners, the company says those records will be deleted after age confirmation.

Alongside direct verification, Discord will introduce what it calls an “age inference model” running continuously in the background. The system is intended to determine whether an account is being used by an adult. Once verification is completed, account settings will automatically adjust to match the confirmed age group.

The rollout, scheduled to begin in phases from March, will first affect how sensitive content is displayed. Material considered inappropriate for teens will be blurred by default. Only users who are age-assured as adults will be able to remove those restrictions.

Certain channels, servers and app commands will also carry limitations for teen accounts. In private communication spaces, friend requests from unknown users will trigger warning prompts, and direct messages from unfamiliar accounts will be filtered into a separate inbox. Adjusting those settings will be reserved for verified adults.

Discord also confirmed that only adult users will be permitted to speak on servers under the new framework. The company emphasized that a user’s age verification status will remain private.

As part of the broader safety initiative, Discord is launching a Teen Council, an advisory board made up of 10 to 12 members aged between 13 and 17. Applications are open until May 1, 2026. The company says the group will help inform future product decisions affecting younger users.

The announcement comes amid growing legislative efforts around the world focused on youth safety and age-gated content online. Roblox introduced comparable measures in 2025.

Discord itself previously attempted to standardize age verification in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2025. That effort drew attention after some users bypassed the system using a selfie of the fictional character Sam Porter Bridges from the video game Death Stranding.

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This latest policy overhaul appears shaped in part by those earlier shortcomings. For now, the company is positioning the new framework as a balance between tighter safeguards and user privacy, with global implementation set to begin within weeks.