DISCORD announced it will put all existing and new profiles in teen-appropriate mode by default in early March, with the teen-appropriate profile mode remaining in place until users prove they are adults. To change a profile to full access will require verification by Discord’s age inference model, a new system that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without always requiring users to verify their age, according to Discord.
Savannah Badalich, Head of Product Policy at Discord, described the approach as building on safety protections while giving verified adults flexibility. The move comes as platforms face regulatory pressure—particularly in the UK, EU, and parts of the US—to introduce stronger age-verification measures. Age-verification methods include a facial scan or a government-issued ID, with video selfies claimed to never leave the user’s device, though this method is not reliable for everyone.