It wasn’t long ago that the entire internet was in an uproar because Discord, in its infinite wisdom, unveiled age verification while partnering with one of the most invasive services imaginable. The results? Most started looking elsewhere, and Teamspeak even saw a massive resurgence, thanks to this oh-so-wise decision by Discord.
But hey, they listened. Discord CTO Stanislav Vischnevskiy clarified that 90% of users won’t have to authenticate, and the team is pushing back age verification to the second half of 2026.
In a blog post, Vischnevskiy said:
We’ve set a new bar for any partner offering facial age estimation, including that it must be performed entirely on-device, meaning your biometric data never leaves your phone. Persona did not meet that bar.
We’ve made mistakes. I won’t pretend we haven’t. And I know that being a bigger company now means our mistakes have bigger consequences and erode trust faster. I don’t expect one blog post to fix that. Trust is earned through actions over time: shipping the things we promised, owning it when we miss the mark, and giving you real control over your own experience.
Discord has yet to clarify some of the features and limitations surrounding age verification, such as which safety features will remain active for users who don’t verify their age. Furthermore, the chat software company will disclose anonymous data, including age, chosen verification methods, and how its verification works to prevent user action.
What do you think? Are you still moving elsewhere?