Fixing Discord’s Botched Age Verification: Steps Being Taken

As many popular applications and websites implement age verification to safeguard younger audiences, Discord’s recent attempt at this initiative has led to substantial confusion and user alarm. The community-centric platform now finds itself in a position of needing to rectify the situation and restore user confidence.

Discord’s Miscommunication on Age Verification

The initial blunder on Discord’s part centered around a lack of clear communication regarding who needed to verify their age. The announcement created an impression that age verification would be mandatory for all users, resulting in significant anxiety among its vast user base.

Stanislav Vishnevskiy, one of Discord’s co-founders, acknowledged that the communication could have been more precise. Instead of implying that all 200 million global users would require new “teen”accounts, the message should have clarified that only those attempting to access adult-oriented content were obligated to submit verification.

Announcement from Discord founder about how they missed the mark on Discord age verification. — Image source: Discord Blog

Notably, Discord reports that only around 10% of users will be impacted by the new age verification requirements, meaning the overwhelming majority of users do not need to worry about this change.

Concerns Regarding Persona’s Role in Age Verification

Personally, I’m skeptical about age verification practices. The security behind how IDs are stored and personal privacy is protected is often unclear, leading many users to seek alternatives. For instance, after the Google Play Store enforced new age verification for various applications, users began migrating to different app stores.

In most scenarios involving age verification, platforms team up with third-party services for processes involving ID and face scans. In Discord’s case, this partner is Persona. Compounding these concerns, reports revealed that hackers compromised around 70, 000 IDs from Persona just months before Discord’s age verification rollout was intended to begin.

Persona's home page showing what types of verification are available.

Though Discord had been using Persona for age verification tests in the UK, they asserted that the service was not applied elsewhere, only for customer support. However, under the circumstances, I would hesitate to upload my ID to a company with such a recent breach of security.

Moreover, discussions surrounding age verification often extend beyond child protection, veering into concerns about surveillance and data collection. Persona’s connection to Palantir—known for developing systems used in US intelligence for surveillance, including AI-driven military applications—adds another layer of unease.

For users unsure if age verification pertains to them, considering the affiliation with a recently hacked entity and a military surveillance software developer may certainly lead to hesitation.

Discord Postpones Age Verification to Reassess Strategy

In response to the backlash, Discord has opted to delay the implementation of its age verification system, emphasizing its commitment to restoring user trust. Their previous approach did not inspire confidence.

Going forward, Discord plans to adopt a revised strategy that includes the following measures:

Discord's approach to a global launch, including vendor transparency and multiple verification options. — Image source: Discord Blog

Severing all connections with Persona; they will cease using Persona for customer support.
Any third-party identification vendors must meet strict security and privacy criteria before collaboration.
Verification partners are mandated to purge all verification data within a designated time frame.
Discord will not store your ID; only your age category will be communicated from the verification partner, ensuring privacy.
Verification partners will have no access to user accounts on Discord.
Only those looking to access age-restricted content will need to verify their identity.
Discord aims to offer alternative methods for age verification, utilizing account age, stored payment details, and overall engagement as identifiers without requiring proactive input from users.
Accounts that do not verify will lose access only to age-restricted content and certain adult settings, without impacts on other features or connections within Discord.
Discord will not scan your messages to ascertain your age.

Prior to the full-scale rollout of age verification across the platform, Discord is committed to providing a transparent guide detailing the process, which hopefully will be clearer than previous communications.

Navigating Age Verification on Discord

Many users are exploring VPNs as a means to circumvent age verification, but using them might lead to account suspension if discovered. Additionally, as more regions impose age verification mandates, relying on this method may have limited effectiveness.

If accessing age-restricted content is important, exploring alternative platforms that do not require such verification may be advantageous. One potential option is Stoat, a UK-based platform that adheres to local laws but has not yet implemented global restrictions.

Stoat homepage as an alternative to Discord.

A prudent approach would be to legally navigate around age verification issues to avoid account suspension. According to Discord, approximately 90% of users do not seek to access age-restricted content, which offers an effective workaround: simply steer clear of age-restricted content to bypass age verification altogether. On servers that do host such content, protective measures like blurred images may prompt the age verification process when users attempt to view them.

For parents concerned about their teens attempting to evade these safeguards, the Family Center feature provides tools to monitor their activities effectively.

In conclusion, whether we embrace it or not, age verification is becoming increasingly pervasive across various platforms, especially social media. For many, avoiding adult content is the simplest way to circumvent verification checks.

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