Discord claims "most users" will never go through an age verification process because they're already monitoring your behavior.

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 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.

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 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.

@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.

@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.

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

@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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

@mahryekuh @mttaggart

Just look up your ID with @haveibeenpwned to see if you exist or not

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.

@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.

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