Discord has announced it is delaying the global rollout of its Teen By Default age assurance system until the second half of 2026 following community backlash and concerns over privacy and verification requirements.
The update comes just weeks after Discord revealed plans to expand age verification and safety controls globally. The announcement triggered immediate discussion across social media, with some users looking for alternatives and TeamSpeak reporting heavy demand that pushed hosting capacity to its limits in the US.
In a new blog post, Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy said the company heard feedback from users and acknowledged that its initial messaging created confusion about how the system would work.
Discord confirms delay and outlines changes
Under a section titled “What We’re Changing Right Now,” Discord confirmed the global rollout has been pushed back while it expands verification options and improves transparency around how age assurance works.
According to the post, Discord will now:
- Delay the global rollout to the second half of 2026 while continuing to meet legal obligations in regions where age verification laws already exist
- Add more verification options, including credit card verification
- Publish a list of all verification vendors and explain how each handles data
- Require facial age estimation tools to run fully on-device, meaning biometric data does not leave a user’s phone
- Introduce a new spoiler channel option so communities can avoid age-gating servers for non-adult topics
- Release a technical blog explaining how automatic age determination works before the global launch
- Add age assurance metrics to transparency reports
Discord said more than 90% of users are expected to continue using the platform without needing to verify their age, with verification only required for a smaller group attempting to access age-restricted content or adjust certain safety settings.
Why Discord says age assurance is being added
The company said the system is designed to keep the experience unchanged for most users while ensuring teens receive age-appropriate safeguards and adults retain access to unrestricted content.
Discord explained that its internal systems can automatically determine age groups for many accounts using account-level signals such as account age, payment methods, server participation, and activity patterns. The company said these systems do not read messages or analyze conversations.
For users who do need to verify, Discord said third-party vendors will handle verification and only return an age group rather than personal identity details. The company also confirmed it previously tested a verification partner in the UK but chose not to move forward, saying all data from the test was deleted.
While the global expansion is delayed, Discord said it will continue operating age verification systems in countries where laws already require them, including the UK and Australia, with similar regulations expected to take effect in Brazil.
In those regions, adults attempting to access age-restricted content may still be required to verify through approved vendors.
The wider global rollout will now wait until Discord completes the planned changes and publishes additional technical details ahead of launch in 2026.
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