Discord Gives Clarification on Age Verification System After Sharp Criticism

JAKARTA - Discord recently announced an age verification policy that they will implement globally. However, users of the platform seem to have a negative reaction.

To ease the reaction, Discord released an update on its age verification policy. The policy explains that most users don't need to go through an identity verification procedure as imagined.

In a post uploaded on X, Discord emphasized that this age verification policy only affects users who want to access adult content. This will prevent children and teenagers from accessing content that is not appropriate for their age.

For users who do not access servers or channels with age restrictions, the experience of using the application will remain the same. They do not need to scan their faces or submit personal identification cards to verify their age.

"Most Discord users do not access age-restricted content and will never go through the face age estimation or identity verification process," Discord said, quoted on Wednesday, February 11.

The company also said that it uses 'age prediction' technology as a support for the age verification system. This technology works automatically in the background.

With this system, Discord can determine whether the account owner is an adult based on pre-existing data. This system is there so that adult users can still access all features smoothly without age verification.

"For most adult users, we can confirm your age group using the information we already have. We use age predictions to determine, with a high degree of confidence, when users are considered adults," Discord added.

Although it sounds more flexible, users are still required to perform manual verification if the system cannot determine their age automatically. This additional step will only be requested if users insist on entering sensitive areas or security settings.