Discord Requires Face Verification for Full Access: Are You Ready for March?

Following Pedro Sánchez’s announcement about the implementation of a minimum legal age for the use of social networks in Spain, Discord has revealed today that it will implement global age verification next month.

All user accounts will be automatically adjusted to provide a ‘teen-friendly’ experienceunless they confirm that they are of legal age.

Those users who do not verify their legal age They will not be able to access servers and channels with age restrictions, they will not be able to participate in ‘stage’ channels and will see filters applied to any content that the platform considers graphic or sensitive.

Another key element for the protection of adolescents is that friend requests and direct messages from unknown users They will go to a separate inbox.

Direct messages and servers that do not have age restrictions will continue to operate as they have until now.

Users will not be able to send messages or view content on an age-restricted server until the age verification process is complete.

Savannah Badalich, global product director at Discord, explained in an interview with The Verge that these servers They will be hidden behind a black screen until the user confirms their adult age.

It will be necessary to complete the ‘one time’ age verification process before you can join new servers with age restrictions.

Discord’s announcement coincides with a series of similar initiatives on other online platforms, motivated by international legal pressure demanding age controls and more rigorous security measures to protect minors.

This is now a global rollout of a system that has previously been deployed in the UK and Australia.

Facial age estimation with AI

Discord has indicated that for remove ‘default teen’ modethe user can opt for facial age estimation or send an ID document through Discord partners.

More options have been announced for the future, although there are concerns due to a data leak in October, which included images of users’ ID documents.

Facial age estimation is done using AI analysis of a user’s selfie videoalthough Discord ensures that this data will never leave the user’s device.

If the age estimate fails, users can appeal or verify their age with a photo of their ID.

All documents are verified by a third party, although the platform ensures that these images will be deleted quicklyin most cases, after confirming the age.

Badalich highlighted an important aspect of the process saying: “We do not perform biometric scans or facial recognition. What we do is a facial estimation.

And he added: «The identity document is immediately deleted. We do not store any personal information such as your name, city of residence, whether you used a birth certificate or anything else. “We do not retain that information.”

Discord is implementing a age inference model that analyzes metadata such as the types of games the user plays, their Discord activity, and behavioral signals such as hours of activity or time spent on Discord.

Badalich mentioned in this regard: “If we have a high level of confidence that they are adults, they will not need to go through the other age verification processes.”

Discord is aware of the risk that some users may leave the platform due to the implementation of age verification, although they will look for ways to attract back those users unhappy with the new measures.