Some users in Australia and the UK are no longer able to view sensitive content unless they verify their age with a facial scan or ID. According to The Verge, the experimental feature was introduced in response to local law requirements.
The new requirements only apply to users who have not previously verified their age. It is a one-time procedure that can be activated in two cases: first, when a user views sensitive content that Discord has marked as nude or sexually explicit, and second, when they try to change their filter settings to avoid blurring or blocking such content.
Discord's move comes in response to laws passed in the UK that require platforms that may host sensitive content to implement age verification. Meanwhile, the Australian government has passed a law that bans children under 16 from using social media, although the ban is still easily circumvented.
Discord says that all information collected during age verification will not be stored by the company or any server providers for the platform.
"For Face Scan, the solution our vendor uses operates on-device, which means there is no collection of any biometric information when you scan your face," Discord says. "For ID verification, the scan of your ID is deleted upon verification."