Discord Is Changing How Everyone Uses It. Here’s What You Need to Know

Today, Discord dropped a major update that’s going to shake things up for users everywhere. The company announced that starting in early March 2026, everyone on the platform will be placed into a “teen-by-default” experience unless they verify their age and that’s a pretty big deal for how the app works going forward.

Basically, Discord is rolling out stronger safety features designed to give younger users more protection by default. If you want to do normal things like access certain content, join age-gated servers, or change some settings, you might need to prove you’re an adult first.

So what does that mean for you?

• All accounts will start in a “teen-safe” mode – even if you’re 30. You only leave that mode once you go through a quick age check.
• To get full access to age-restricted chats and features, Discord will ask users to verify their age. This can be done by either showing a valid ID or using on-device age estimation tech like a video selfie.
• Discord says their system doesn’t store your face data off your device, and IDs are deleted soon after verification.
• Until you verify, some things like sensitive media, certain servers, or “stage” audio rooms won’t be available to you.

Discord’s official pitch is that this is all about making the platform safer, especially for teens, while giving adults the flexibility to prove their age and continue using the app normally.

But obviously, this isn’t just about being safe online. Asking people to scan their faces or upload ID is a lot, and it’s already sparking debate about privacy, data security, and how far platforms should go to enforce age gates.

Whether you’re hyped or annoyed, one thing’s clear: Discord’s about to work pretty differently for a lot of people.

We don’t fully utilize Discord here at Mafia Scene, but this will make us re-think how we use the platform moving forward. Let us know what you think.