Discord Adds Facial Scans for Age Verification in the UK and Australia

Discord has implemented age verification to access sensitive content, asking some users to scan an ID or record a video.

As explained by Discord, this age confirmation procedure is an experiment being trialed in the United Kingdom and Australia. These countries have recently passed legal acts to enforce stricter age verification measures to protect children from harmful content.

Users need to verify their age in two situations: when they encounter content flagged by the app's sensitive media filter or when trying to change the sensitive content filter settings.

The procedure is the same, regardless of the situation. The first option to confirm the age is to record a video selfie; the other variant is to submit a photo of the user's ID document. The process of confirmation takes place only once – users don't need to verify their age each time they access sensitive content.

According to Discord, the information that users share while checking their age group is not stored by the company or its vendor. It is said that no biometric information is collected when users scan their faces, and the photos of their IDs are deleted after verification.

The new measure taken by the chat platform is described as "a start of a bigger shift," as in the UK, the new legal provisions require that "robust" age verification of online platforms must be in place by July. On the other hand, it is noted that photo-based checks might raise privacy concerns.

Recently, it was reported that Discord has been in talks with bankers regarding preparations for an IPO. However, this is said to be "exploratory" and may be changed.

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