Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.
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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.
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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 Yeah that’s much better
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@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.
@mttaggart It's like your bank asking you what your name is before handing you (someone else's) money.
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@mttaggart On a more serious note, I could imagine them skipping age verification for accounts of a certain age. For example, unless someone created an account when they were 8, then a 10-year-old account would probably belong to an adult.
But other than that, they will surely feed everything to a big AI and have their fun with it.
@mahryekuh "Here, kid, I want you to have this heirloom account that was once created by your great-grandfather. Thanks to the grandfather clause, it's exempt from all further verification!"
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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
The bot accounts are pre-approved.
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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
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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 congrats discord adopters, you're AI training corpus has really helped... I dunno... billionaires?
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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.
@mttaggart @odr_k4tana it's become clear that social and community building internet services cannot be ran by for profit companies. It doesn't work
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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
There is only one answer to discord in my opinion " GOODBEYE "
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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.
@mttaggart @BlueDot there is no way to implement a discrimination system (which us what this all is) without identifying people. It either requires your ID or something directly and nonprivatly traceable to it, or can be easily circumvented by someone lending their ID to someone without one.
When you propose these "solutions" you're legitimizing the whole system. Don't do that!
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@mttaggart so if kids want to be classified as adults they just need to say stuff like "my wife" in chat?
@mttaggart @feld doesn't work in red states, being a teen is no guarantee you're not married there
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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 so they decide a user is an adult, when they start acting adult enough.
*that's* never been a sketchy justification for abuse, nooooooo...
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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
To late Discord. To Late... 🤨
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@mttaggart @feld doesn't work in red states, being a teen is no guarantee you're not married there
@fluffykittycat @mttaggart surely they can combine it with geoip lookups
alternatively just say something about your 16 year old child -- no way you can be under 18 and have a 16 year old kid
