Discord narrows age checks ahead of March policy rollout

Discord will age-gate all users in March; AI verifies most

Discord’s new age verification policy will apply globally and gate access by age across the service. As reported by The Verge, the company has emphasized that most users will continue using the platform much as they do today, and the report links the March timing to mounting safety-law pressure in the United Kingdom and Australia.

In practice, the Discord age verification policy intends to verify many adults through an AI age inference model, with additional checks reserved for edge cases. According to Engadget, AI will automatically verify most adults, reducing friction while enforcing access to age-gated spaces.

Why this matters: privacy, vendor risk, and misclassification

The policy concentrates sensitive processing, face analysis, document checks, and behavioral inference, into a single compliance flow that depends on third-party vendors. Lifewire has noted that Discord disclosed a late-2025 incident involving a third-party vendor, intensifying scrutiny of how any new biometric or ID data would be handled.

Civil liberties concerns extend to the inference layer itself, where background classification may affect users who never submit an ID or selfie. Petitions on Change.org argue that default restrictions for unverified accounts amount to punitive treatment and raise surveillance questions.

Experts point out that outsourcing verification does not eliminate responsibility for secure storage and vendor oversight. “Businesses still have accountability to ensure data is stored appropriately,” said Nathan Webb, principal consultant at Acumen Cyber in the United Kingdom.

Immediate impact: unverified accounts default to teen-restricted access

Users who do not complete age verification will be placed into a teen-restricted experience that limits access relative to adult accounts. As reported by 9to5Mac, Discord said unverified users would be restricted to teen-level access across the service.

For adults incorrectly classified by inference, this could mean losing eligibility for age-gated spaces until they complete a higher-assurance check. Appeals and remedies were not detailed in the materials reviewed here, so outcomes may vary by product surface and region.

What verification may require: AI inference, video selfie, or ID document

The verification flow will rely first on AI inference to establish adulthood and, when needed, escalate to a video selfie or government ID review. The Herald-Tribune reported that the new requirements roll out in March and can include video selfies and ID documents.

Each method carries different privacy trade-offs: inference reduces friction but may misclassify, while selfie and ID checks are more precise yet expose more sensitive data. Given the recent vendor incident and the broader regulatory push, risk tolerance will differ among users and communities, and documentation about retention and deletion practices will be central to trust.