Discord news: Online chat service to start requiring face scan or ID from all users to access adult content

Its new safety measures are designed to protect people by placing everyone into a teen-appropriate experience "by default". Discord already makes some users in the UK and Australia verify their age to comply with online safety laws - but it will roll out the age checks to all users worldwide from early March.

Users will have to verify their age with a face scan or by uploading a form of ID if they want to access adult content. The platform says the new default settings will restrict what people can see and how they can communicate, with only those who prove they are an adult able to access age-restricted communities and unblur material marked as sensitive.

Users will also not be able to see direct messages sent to them from someone they do not know unless they complete Discord's age checks. Discord policy head Savannah Badalich told BBC News: "Nowhere is our safety work more important than when it comes to teen users.

“Rolling out teen-by-default settings globally builds on Discord's existing safety architecture, giving teens strong protections while allowing verified adults flexibility." Users can either upload a photo of their ID to confirm their age or take a video selfie, where AI will be used to estimate their facial age.

Discord said information used for age checks will not be stored by the platform or the verification company. It said face scans would not be collected, and ID uploads would be deleted after the verification is complete.

Discord is echoing the likes of Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and Roblox. Social platforms have rolled out a slew of measures to protect teens and children on their sites in recent years after facing increased pressure from lawmakers.