Discord is a popular communication app that debuted in 2015 and quickly gained a following among people looking to communicate while playing video games. The service supports voice, video and text chat and has over 200 million monthly active users.
How it works
Discord is organized into chat groups called servers, the community spaces on Discord. Most servers are small and invitation-only, though some larger servers are public. Anyone can start a server on any topic, so long as it doesn’t violate Discord’s Terms of Service or Community Guidelines. Discord currently has about 19 million servers.
Servers are organized into subtopics called channels, which are divided into text and voice channels. In text channels, users post messages, upload files and share images. In voice channels, users communicate through voice or video chat and screen sharing (called “Go Live”).
Users can send private messages to other users as direct messages (DMs) or start a voice or video call. Most DMs are one-on-one conversations, but users can invite up to nine others to create a private group DM (GDM) with a maximum of ten people.
Discord also features Student Hubs, a space for students to engage with others at their high school or college by verifying their Discord account with their official student email. Within the hub, they can connect with other verified students, discover servers for study groups or classes, and share their servers for fellow students to join. Hubs are student-created and not affiliated with or managed by the school.
Discord has Community Guidelines that explain what isn’t allowed on the platform, including hate speech, harassment, incitement to violence and bullying. With the help of global teen focus groups, Discord has also published its own Teen Charter—a set of principles that outlines what teens expect of each other and of Discord.
Server owners and volunteer community moderators define and enforce norms of behavior for their communities that can go beyond the Discord Community Guidelines. Volunteer moderators, or “mods,” help enforce the Community Guidelines and individual server rules and delete content or remove users who break the rules.
Joining Discord
The minimum age to access the Discord app or website is 13 unless laws in an area mandate a higher age. Users must state their date of birth when creating an account. Discord will delete an account if a user is found to be under 13. The account will be restored if the user can verify their age using an official ID document.
Discord Family Center
Family Center is an in-platform parent supervision tool found under user settings that provides parents with greater visibility into their teens’ interactions and activities on Discord. Up to three parents, guardians or other trusted adults can connect to a teen. The parent or other adult would need a Discord account to access the Family Center, and once they complete the setup process with their teen, they can view their connected teen’s activity. To connect with your teen in Family Center, your teen needs to start the process by providing you with a QR code generated from the Family Center tab under the Connect with Parent option.
Parents receive a weekly email summary containing detailed information about their teen’s activity on the platform, including the usernames of friends the teen chatted with and the names of servers in which their teen is active. The activity summary includes the number of users they’ve messaged or called, the number of new friends they’ve added, and how many servers they’re actively participating in. Family Center won’t contain a complete activity archive and will only highlight activities after their teen has accepted their connection request. Information is presented on a 7-day rolling basis, so it’s timely without being overwhelming.
Safety considerations and settings
We recommend the most restrictive settings for users under 18 but acknowledge that every teen is unique. Whatever settings are selected, parents should review them at least once a year with their teens as they grow and mature.
Here are some settings we recommend reviewing with your teen:
Filtering out explicit images
We recommend the most restrictive setting. “Filter direct messages from non-friends” is the default, which means direct messages from non-friends will be filtered for sexually explicit images, and images that may be sexually explicit will be automatically blocked. While the filter will successfully identify most explicit images, there may be some instances where it fails to do so. In such cases, block the user responsible and report the content that violates Discord’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. Enable the filter in User Settings > Privacy & Safety > Explicit Image Filter.
Discord also enables sensitive content filters as part of its Teen Safety Initiative. These media filters are default-enabled for teens and blur media that may be sensitive. If they want to change the setting to block this content instead of just blurring, they can do so in their User Settings > Privacy & Safety > Sensitive Media.
Minor accounts also can’t access channels labeled “age-restricted,” which may contain nudity or other adult content. They can control DM filters in Settings > Privacy & Settings > Direct Message Filters.
Managing friends
Users can receive friend requests from Everyone, Friends of Friends, and Server Members, but we recommend teens only accept friend requests from people they know in real life. There might be some exceptions, such as people who share interests and hobbies, but teens should discuss these exceptions in advance with their parents. The user must approve all friend requests, no matter the friend setting. Go to User Settings > Friend Requests. Learn more about friend requests here.
Direct messages
“Allow direct messages from server members” is on by default, but we recommend teens only exchange direct messages with people they know and trust, so teens should toggle it to the off position. Go to User Settings > Privacy & Safety > Server Privacy Defaults.
Remember that changes to global settings only affect new servers your teen joins. To change settings in existing servers, go to Server Settings on the server’s dropdown menu next to the server name.
Users can adjust settings on a server-by-server basis, so teens may want to select the most restrictive settings in the general settings menu and then adjust an individual server’s settings to be less restrictive (e.g., a server set up for a study group at school).
Meme culture
Anywhere you find teens online, you’ll find meme culture, and Discord is no exception. Countless Discord servers are packed with memes (pronounced “meem”), which are videos, images or graphical text that are usually funny, shared as-is or altered in a way that extends or adds to the “conversation.”
Most memes are silly, while some are thought-provoking, offering commentary or satire on various topics and news events and building on other memes or events in pop culture. But some memes can be racist, sexist or homophobic and serve to perpetuate these and other societal harms. (Discord will remove these types of memes when reported.)
Look at your teen’s favorite memes together to jump-start a conversation about this important part of youth culture. What’s a meme they like, didn’t like, one they’ve created? What’s the “backstory” or context of the meme that resonates with them? Don’t be surprised to see memes that tackle tough subjects with deadpan humor, similar to stand-up comedians joking about war or disease. Take time to listen and understand—without judgment—what they appreciate about a meme and why.
Blocking & reporting
Blocked users can’t send you direct messages, and you won’t see any new content they post, nor will they see what you post.
On desktop:
- Right-click the user’s @Username to bring up a menu.
- Select Block in the menu.
On mobile:
- Tap the user’s @Username to bring up the user’s profile.
- Tap the three dots in the upper right corner for a menu.
- Select Block in the menu.
To report a user posting harmful content, use the reporting feature within the app. For desktop users, hover over the message, click on the three dots that appear, and select the category within the “Report Message” menu. On mobile, press and hold over a message and tap “Report.” Learn more here.
Password and 2FA
Create a hard-to-guess password, and don’t share it. For additional protection, we recommend enabling two-factor authentication (2FA). Go to User Settings > My Account > Enable Two Factor Auth. Learn more about enabling 2FA on Discord and about creating strong, unique passwords and additional security layers at connectsafely.org/passwords.
Teen Safety Assist initiative
Discord offers teen default settings as part of its Teen Safety Assist initiative. Teens will receive two types of safety alerts: when they receive a DM from a sender for the first time or when they receive a message that Discord detects is potentially unwanted. No action is needed to opt in.
How does Discord make money?
Discord makes money through subscriptions and paid products. They say they don’t sell users’ personal information. They offer an optional premium subscription called Nitro, which allows subscribers to stream higher quality video, upload large file sizes (helpful when sharing big images, gifs or short snippets of video), create a custom profile and other perks.
Users can also purchase server “boosts,” which provide special emotes (characters with movement) and improved video and voice quality within a server.
Closing thoughts for parents
Safety on Discord, like all social platforms, mostly depends on how it’s used.
Smart practices—like treating others how you want to be treated, utilizing privacy settings in an age-appropriate way and maintaining a healthy balance of on- and offline activities—are especially protective and will help ensure a positive experience on Discord or just about any other app. You can learn more about Discord safety, including viewing their full Guardian’s Guide at Discord.com/Safety.
It’s important to note that parents are still the people most teens look to for advice and a value system that will carry them successfully into adulthood. Open, non-judgmental discussions and genuine interest, not fear, in the apps, games and services they use are a great way to put into practice your family’s values and help your teen grow into the adult they are meant to be.