Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
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@mttaggart how else would they make money? Not that I want to defend data selling at all, I hate it with a passion, but at some point we need to be asking ourselves what exactly it is we are expecting from for-profit companies.
@odr_k4tana Nitro...exists? So does their ad program, Quests. They are bending the knee to age verification globally in anticipation of potential legislation, and doing so with the sketchiest of tech, after already losing 70k users' PII in a breach.
This isn't about revenue.
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@odr_k4tana Nitro...exists? So does their ad program, Quests. They are bending the knee to age verification globally in anticipation of potential legislation, and doing so with the sketchiest of tech, after already losing 70k users' PII in a breach.
This isn't about revenue.
@mttaggart really? From a cost perspective, it makes sense. You have the system already, and legislation might change. Rather than maintaining two states, you kill one and make the one you have to implement anyways default. They were bought by an investor, they need to produce value. Cutting costs is the go-to for that.
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@mttaggart "We analyzed all your private messages, public messages, server selections, active hours, and the level of excitement you feel at getting socks as a gift, just so we can validate that you are an adult!"
Yay, Discord, yay.
Just look up your ID with @haveibeenpwned to see if you exist or not
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@mttaggart really? From a cost perspective, it makes sense. You have the system already, and legislation might change. Rather than maintaining two states, you kill one and make the one you have to implement anyways default. They were bought by an investor, they need to produce value. Cutting costs is the go-to for that.
@odr_k4tana I don't really know why you feel the need to jump to defend the poor suffering corporation prepping for an IPO. But lots of things "make sense" from a pure revenue perspective that are at odds with user's best interests.
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart Whether you give them the credentials they want or not, the user behavior will be monitored continuously. To say this is about teens is a lie.
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@odr_k4tana I don't really know why you feel the need to jump to defend the poor suffering corporation prepping for an IPO. But lots of things "make sense" from a pure revenue perspective that are at odds with user's best interests.
@mttaggart I don't give a shit about discord. Let it burn, I don't care. All I said was to demonstrate why this, in my eyes, is very much about revenue. Legislative threats can translate into real issues fast. Execs perceiving such threats will adjust their way of doing things to minimize the potential impact.
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart
^^^
I could swear that exact paragraph was not there yesterday when I read this page. The article has an editorial update supporting that impression.I know they may mean “accounts over five years old since you had to be thirteen to apply legally” but JEEEEEEEZ.
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart The Miranda warnings apply now to more that just the cops.
Funny thing is when I was young, I often got told i seemed so “mature”. Wonder if I would’ve passed this vibe check. Now that I’m older, I get told I seemed young, so again, would I pass it
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart "We don't need your billing address. We know where you live." -
Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
I am trying to read this as charitably as possible, if only to clarify my own concerns. There are definitely ways it could be worse. The "video selfie" component of the assurance process is analyzed on-device. But your ID is still sent to a third-party vendor. The claim is that the data is deleted "quickly—in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." But Discord doesn't actually control that; the unnamed third party does.
A spokesperson for Discord has said of the age inference model:
Discord’s age inference model uses account information such as account tenure, device and activity data, and aggregated, high-level patterns across Discord communities. Discord does not use private messages or any message content in this process.
https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out
Account tenure could mean "Are you necessarily an adult assuming you created your account when you turned 13?" As far as device and activity data, that as vague as hell! And without reviewing messages, I don't love the idea that whatever data they're collecting could be used for verification. Whether it works or not, pretty creepy.
And I guess that's where I'm landing here. I have a very public record of being too credulous with these kinds of things in the past. I'm tired of getting burned. I'm tired of my community getting burned. This won't be the last creepy thing Discord pulls out on its road to IPO. I think I'd rather take the next offramp.
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart have people really forgotten the term "chilling effect"? applies so hard here.
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart but from what I am led to believe - if they verify your age via this method or uploading one's identity documents to a third-party server secured with spit and bailing wire — they can help you find your dog.
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Just look up your ID with @haveibeenpwned to see if you exist or not
@simonzerafa @mttaggart @haveibeenpwned How does that relate to the original post?
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I am trying to read this as charitably as possible, if only to clarify my own concerns. There are definitely ways it could be worse. The "video selfie" component of the assurance process is analyzed on-device. But your ID is still sent to a third-party vendor. The claim is that the data is deleted "quickly—in most cases, immediately after age confirmation." But Discord doesn't actually control that; the unnamed third party does.
A spokesperson for Discord has said of the age inference model:
Discord’s age inference model uses account information such as account tenure, device and activity data, and aggregated, high-level patterns across Discord communities. Discord does not use private messages or any message content in this process.
https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out
Account tenure could mean "Are you necessarily an adult assuming you created your account when you turned 13?" As far as device and activity data, that as vague as hell! And without reviewing messages, I don't love the idea that whatever data they're collecting could be used for verification. Whether it works or not, pretty creepy.
And I guess that's where I'm landing here. I have a very public record of being too credulous with these kinds of things in the past. I'm tired of getting burned. I'm tired of my community getting burned. This won't be the last creepy thing Discord pulls out on its road to IPO. I think I'd rather take the next offramp.
RE: https://left-bank.net/@BlueDot/116053101957177322
And none of this so-called age inference is actually necessary for verifying someone's age. So I think the cynical assumption---that their actual goal is to collect private information and use it against us---is justified.
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@mttaggart Whether you give them the credentials they want or not, the user behavior will be monitored continuously. To say this is about teens is a lie.
@AAKL @mttaggart
I guess companies may be hoping to prevent more effective legislation than Australia’s total ban on kids internet usageWhich kids are totally walking right past and getting straight to the adult content (unintended consequences anyone?)
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/05/teens-experience-australia-social-media-ban -
Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart so if kids want to be classified as adults they just need to say stuff like "my wife" in chat? -
@mttaggart so if kids want to be classified as adults they just need to say stuff like "my wife" in chat?
@feld Log in one time from a desktop
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart@infosec.exchange I'm wondering, has somebody tried to object to Discord making automated decisions (and profiling)? GDPR art. 21 gives that power to the user (“the data subject”), and I would (naïvely) think that you do not need to make automated decisions when providing a chat service…
(not a legal advice, I am not a lawyer, though I would be interested what would happen…)
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart We won't violate your privacy because we are already violating your privacy!
Now please don't talk about our data breach.
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Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
For the majority of adult users, we will be able to confirm your age group using information we already have. We use age prediction to determine, with high confidence, when a user is an adult. This allows many adults to access age-appropriate features without completing an explicit age check.
Gotta say, constant behavior analysis is not the warm and fuzzy blanket they seem to think it is.
https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-is-building-safer-experiences-for-teens
@mttaggart How is determining someone's age with "high confidence" useful?
I mean, how high is it?
I can determine someone's age with "high confidence" just by asking them about it.
Because most people don't lie.
Surely Age Verification is not that trivial.
