Discord is Making the 'Teen' Experience the Global Default Next Month: What Adults Need to Know

Discord is set to roll out a major, global change to its platform starting in early March, automatically setting every user’s account—new and existing—to a “teen-appropriate” default experience. This sweeping initiative, driven by increasing global pressure to protect minors online, means that all users will face content restrictions and limited access until their age is officially assured as adult.

While this sounds like a mandatory ID scan for everyone, Discord has clarified that for most longtime adult users, the change will be largely invisible. The platform is relying on a new, background Age Inference Model to automatically verify a majority of its adult user base based on existing activity data, circumventing the need for an ID or face scan.

The 'Teen-by-Default' State: What Changes?

The new global setting is a significant pivot from Discord's previous, more permissive defaults. If your account is not verified as an adult, either automatically or manually, you will be placed into a highly restricted environment. These limitations apply until your age is formally assured as 18 or older:

• Content Filters: You will be unable to unblur content Discord flags as graphic or sensitive, and you will not be able to turn off the content filter settings.
• Age-Gated Spaces: Access to all age-restricted channels, servers, and server-specific app commands will be blocked. Any age-restricted server you were previously in may become obfuscated—appearing as a black screen—until verification is complete.
• Stage Restrictions: You will not be able to speak on Discord’s livestream-like “Stage” channels within servers.
• Communication Controls: Direct Messages (DMs) from unfamiliar users will be automatically routed into a separate, filtered inbox. Furthermore, you will receive warning prompts for friend requests from users Discord believes you may not know. Only age-assured adults will be able to modify the message request inbox settings.

Discord's Age Inference Model: AI Over ID

The key differentiator for this global rollout is the introduction of Discord’s proprietary Age Inference Model. This AI-driven system is designed to run in the background and determine, with high confidence, whether an account belongs to an adult.

According to Discord’s global head of product policy, Savannah Badalich, this model uses existing account information such to make its determination:

• Account tenure (how long the account has existed).
• Device and activity data.
• Aggregated, high-level patterns across Discord communities.

Crucially, Discord states that the model does not use private messages or any message content in this process, aiming to balance safety with user privacy. The expectation is that this inference model will automatically 'age-assure' the majority of adult users, allowing them to bypass the manual verification process entirely and continue using the platform without interruption.

The Manual Verification Pathway

If the Age Inference Model cannot confidently verify you as an adult—which is more likely for newer accounts or those with limited activity history—you will be prompted to complete an explicit age verification to remove the restrictions.

Users have two primary options for manual age assurance through Discord’s vendor partners:

1. Facial Age Estimation: Uploading a video selfie that is analyzed by an AI to estimate your age group. Discord emphasizes that this process occurs on-device and the video selfie itself never leaves the user’s device.
2. Government ID Scan: Submitting a photo of a government-issued identification document to a vendor partner. Discord and its partners have committed to quick deletion of the document image—in most cases, immediately after age confirmation.

Discord’s move to use third-party vendors for ID scanning follows a data breach at a previous vendor last year that compromised images of approximately 70,000 government ID scans. The company has since switched partners and reiterated strong privacy assurances regarding data handling, emphasizing that a user’s verification status is private and never visible to other users.

Practical Takeaways for Adult Users

Starting in March, every Discord user should anticipate the possibility of their account being defaulted to the restricted 'teen' experience. Here is a checklist of what to do:

This global age assurance policy represents a significant step for Discord in response to the growing regulatory environment around online child safety. While the intent is to protect younger users, adult users should be prepared for potential, albeit temporary, friction as the new systems roll out and their accounts are assessed.