Discord announces delay in implementing age verification until late 2026

Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevsky has announced that the platform will postpone its planned age verification for all accounts until late 2026.

Getting Global Age Assurance Right: What We Got Wrong and What's Changing
https://discord.com/blog/getting-global-age-assurance-right-what-we-got-wrong-and-whats-changing

Discord is delaying its global age verification rollout | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/policy/883852/discord-age-verification-global-walkback-delay

On February 10, 2026, Discord announced that all accounts would be configured for underage users by default, and that accessing adult content and adult servers would require a face capture or ID scan.

Discord announces that it will make accounts default settings for minors, requiring age verification by taking a photo of your face or scanning your ID to qualify as an adult - GIGAZINE

However, Discord was reported to have had personal information of approximately 70,000 users leaked in October 2025, posing a security risk. Many users expressed privacy concerns, such as 'whether all users would be forced to submit face scans or IDs,' and Vishnevsky admitted that 'there was a lack of explanation.'

Vishnevsky said that public distrust of Big Tech's collection of personal data is natural, but emphasized that Discord's goal is to create a safe environment while protecting privacy.

Vishnevsky stated that the goal of this change is to 'balance appropriate protections for minors and the ability to experience adult content without changing the experience for the vast majority of users.' Specifically, over 90% of users will be able to continue using Discord without any additional action, and Discord will use an internal system that estimates age without identifying individuals based on information such as how long an account has been created and whether or not payment information is available. This system, powered by an open-source rules engine called Osprey , does not read the content of messages or analyze conversations.

Some users have pointed out the high security risks of the Persona app, which was tested in the past. Vishnevsky said, 'We will not continue to use Persona because it did not meet Discord's new standard of on-device facial age estimation.' All test data has been deleted.

Additionally, for some users who require individual verification, such as to access age-restricted content, multiple privacy-conscious options will be offered, including credit card verification and 'on-device' facial age estimation, which means data never leaves the device.

Vishnevsky announced that while the company continues to comply with legal regulations in countries like the UK, Australia, and Brazil, it will postpone the global rollout until late 2026. He also said that rather than imposing an age restriction on the entire server, the company will offer a new feature that will allow users to isolate sensitive topics like spoilers and politics on specific channels.

Vishnevsky also pledged to require partner companies that perform facial age estimation to use on-device processing, so that biometric data does not leave the device, and to clearly state the names of all vendors used and their data handling policies. He also stated that going forward, they will strive to build trust with users through concrete actions, such as including data on age verification in their transparency reports.