Discord Delays User Age Verification Until Second Half of 2026

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Social media platform Discord has postponed its plan for global user age verification until the second half of 2026, pushing back from its initial plan in March 2026 after the company faced criticism from its users.

Discord’s Chief Technology Officer, Stanislav Vishnevskiy, was quoted by the Ittefaq Bangladesh daily on Wednesday (25/2) as writing in the company’s blog, “We made a mistake, and we plan to fix it by regaining your trust.”

Discord’s management acknowledged that many users were concerned that the policy was only intended to collect personal data.

Vishnevskiy explained that not all users would be required to undergo face scans or upload government-issued identification.

He admitted that the company had failed to clearly explain the purpose of the policy to the public, leading to misunderstandings.

Technical issues with the age verification cooperation partner (vendor) were also a reason for the delay.

Discord has terminated its relationship with Persona, an age verification vendor, after Malwarebytes found that Persona was conducting excessive surveillance, as reported by TechRadar.

This sparked concerns that facial data could be collected for specific purposes. Criticism also arose due to Persona’s connection with Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, the founder of Palantir Technologies.

Palantir has faced widespread scrutiny regarding its work in government surveillance, including with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Concerns about Discord’s hidden motives led some users to start looking at other applications, such as Stoat.

Discord is developing a more independent “internal verification system.” This system will accurately estimate age through account history, server activity, and payment methods without reading private messages.

Users who continue to refuse verification will not lose their accounts or messages. However, they will lose access to age-restricted content.