Discord, a popular online communication platform, is rolling out a new age verification system, with the company stating that more than 90 percent of its users will not be affected. The deployment began on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, according to Stanislav Vishnevskiy, co-founder and CTO of the American company. Originally planned for March, the project was delayed after users raised concerns about privacy. The system was first introduced in February 2026 with the global launch of its Teen-by-Default mode, which had already been implemented in the United Kingdom and Australia. This mode automatically places all accounts into a restricted experience, requiring users to provide a video selfie or an identity document to exit the restricted mode. The initial announcement faced resistance, as many users were reluctant to share personal documents due to privacy concerns. A previous incident in October 2025, where thousands of identity documents submitted to 5CA, a service provider for Discord, were exposed during a hacking incident, increased user hesitancy. In response to the backlash, the company delayed the project for several days. Vishnevskiy explained that the platform had initially planned to confirm age through facial recognition and identity document scanning, but after user feedback, they committed to offering more privacy-focused options. Discord has now relaunched its project with a revised approach, citing the increasing number of age verification laws around the world. The platform aims to stay ahead of potential regulatory changes while maintaining user privacy. To estimate a user's age, Discord is using a machine learning model that analyzes a range of data points, such as the account's age, its level of activity, and its position in "the social graph," which includes the communities it has joined, the games it plays, or the profile of the people it communicates with. The company emphasizes that it does not examine messages, calls, or any other content. Users are categorized into one of three age groups: Adult (18 years and older), Teenager (13 to 17 years), and Unverified. Adults experience no changes. Teenagers receive additional protections, such as restricted access to content, settings, and servers with age limits. Unverified users have limited access to certain content and settings until they complete verification. When an account is identified as a teenager, messages from strangers are moved to a separate inbox, sensitive images are blurred or blocked, and servers or bot commands with age limits become inaccessible. The full profile is only visible to the account's friends and members of the "small servers" it is part of. While the video selfie and identity document are no longer mandatory, these options remain available. Other methods include making a micropayment via Stripe, verified by a service provider, sharing their age range from their Apple Store or Google Play Store account, or using AgeKey, an age verification solution that can be configured once and then reused across all services. To check their age group, users can click on their profile picture, go to Settings, select Account, and check the Age Group section. The deployment will take several days, so the status of an account may take some time to appear.