The gaming communications platform Discord said that after weeks of backlash it will postpone and modify an age verification policy it announced in early February.
The launch of the new policy is now delayed to the second half of 2026 and major tweaks are underway, according to a blog post Tuesday from chief technology officer and co-founder, Stanislav Vishnevskiy.
Discord plans to add verification options beyond government ID or video selfies, including by allowing credit card verification, before the new policy takes effect, the blog post said. The platform is also committed to vendor transparency, Vishnevskiy said, and will document every verification vendor and their practices on its website.
Before the launch, Discord also plans to publish a technical blog post to explain how its “age determination systems” work, the blog post said.
Vishnevskiy acknowledged the intense user backlash in the post and apologized for failing to communicate that any age verification system put in place will not affect more than 90% of Discord users. Internal Discord safety systems that make age determinations for adult users based on factors other than government ID spare many people from having to submit identification or a selfie, the blog post said.
“The way this landed, many of you walked away thinking we’re requiring face scans and ID uploads from everyone just to use Discord,” the blog post said. “That’s not what’s happening, but the fact that so many people believe it tells us we failed at our most basic job: clearly explaining what we’re doing and why. That’s on us.”
Vishnevskiy was frank about the need for Discord to get ahead of global regulations that are increasingly requiring platforms to verify users’ ages.
In December, Australia blocked all users under age 16 from accessing social media. In recent weeks, officials in the United Kingdom and several European countries have said they are studying or plan to put in place bans. Many jurisdictions have implemented age verification for users who want to access adult content online.
“The specific way age assurance works (the verification methods, the compliance requirements) is being shaped by legislation already in effect in the UK and Australia, with Brazil quick to follow, and Europe and multiple US states close behind,” the Discord blog post said. “By building this ourselves, we can show regulators that it’s possible to verify age without collecting identity.”
