Discord

Is Discord safe?

Discord is safer for your privacy than most social apps and riskier for your kids than it looks. It does not run the kind of ad-tracking machine Meta or TikTok does, but your text messages are not end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary, its support vendor lost about 70,000 ID photos in 2025, and its open servers have made it a place where adults find children. We score it 56/100.

The right answer depends on who is using it. An adult gamer in a few trusted servers faces mostly account theft. A 12-year-old who joins public servers faces something else.

The 2025 ID breach

On 3 October 2025 Discord disclosed that an unauthorised party had breached 5CA, a third-party company handling its customer support. The attackers accessed support tickets, which included names, usernames, email addresses, the payment type and last four digits of cards, IP addresses and messages with support agents. About 70,000 users may also have had photos of government IDs exposed, which they had sent to appeal age decisions. Discord said the attackers were trying to extort a ransom.

The hacking group behind it claimed it had taken millions of ID images. Discord called that a false claim made to pressure it. The episode is the strongest argument against handing ID documents to any platform, and it shaped the backlash when Discord tried to extend age checks in 2026.

Age checks in 2026

In February 2026 Discord announced that every account would be treated as a teen until verified as an adult, then paused the plan on 24 February after users objected. The version that began rolling out globally in late September 2026 is lighter. Discord estimates whether an account belongs to an adult or a teen from signals such as account age and activity, not message content, and says more than 90% of users will not be asked to prove anything.

Teen accounts get message requests from strangers filtered into a separate folder, sensitive images blurred or blocked, and profiles visible only to friends and small mutual servers. Those asked to verify can choose a card check through Stripe, age data from Apple or Google, a Google Wallet ID, an on-device video selfie or an ID scan.

Children, servers and lawsuits

Discord's design is the issue. Anyone can create a server, many are public, and private messages between members are not end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary but also not visible to parents. Several US criminal cases have involved adults who met children on Discord, sometimes after first contact on Roblox.

Regulators are now testing Discord's safety claims in court:

• New Jersey (April 2025) sued under its Consumer Fraud Act, saying Discord marketed itself as safe while its protections failed.
• Nevada (May 2026) sued, saying the platform's design places young users in danger and that parents were not told.
• Brazil (26 August 2026) the federal Attorney General's Office sued for BRL 500 million in collective damages over age verification and guardian linking.

Discord denies the allegations. The only fine we found is €800,000 from France's CNIL in November 2022, for keeping data too long and weak password rules.

How accounts get stolen

Most adults' real risk on Discord is losing the account. Watch for:

• A friend asking you to "test my game" and sending a download.
• Free Nitro links, or a "you were reported by mistake" message pushing you to contact fake staff.
• QR codes to "verify" in a server, which log the scammer into your account.

These attacks steal your session token, which can bypass two-factor authenticationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary. Never run files from a chat, and never scan a login QR code someone else gives you.

Settings to change

1. In your privacy settings, keep direct messages from server members off by default and set message requests to filter strangers.
2. Turn on two-factor authenticationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary with an authenticator app.
3. Parents: set up Family Center from your own Discord account to see who your teen adds and messages.
4. Leave large public servers you do not need. Smaller, known communities carry far less risk.

How we scored it

Security (50) is pulled down by the 2025 vendor breach and constant token theft, and scams and harmful content (38) by grooming risks and three child-safety lawsuits. Privacy (62) is stronger than at Meta or TikTok because Discord does little ad tracking. Telegram has similar open-community risks with weaker moderation.