Discord is a popular platform for voice, video, and text communication. Originally used by gamers as a way to communicate between different gaming platforms, the app is increasingly being used by people from various communities, including for educational purposes, hobbies, and professional groups – some companies are using it to replace Zoom. On Discord, users can create or join servers, communicate in real-time, and share content with other users of common interests. Besides posting to certain servers where everybody can see, users can privately message each other. Discord has several dangerous aspects which should be considered for user safety:
- Safety of young users – Protect Young Eyes and Bark emphasize that while Discord offers privacy settings, it can still present risks for young users. Since Discord allows people to create and join private or public servers, minors may be exposed to inappropriate content or harmful conversations.
- Cyberbullying and inappropriate content – While Discord has some “safety” features (such as blocking and reporting), it is often up to the individual or server admins to enforce rules. This type of enforcement or lack thereof can leave some users vulnerable to bullying or adult content, especially if they are part of large or public servers, either because it is difficult to monitor the amount of content or the admin has malicious intent. There have been instances of users on certain servers encouraging vulnerable people to commit suicide. A 25 year-old man live-streamed his self immolation suicide to a Discord server (Suicide Article). Both Protect Young Eyes and Bark highlight these dangers, especially for users who do not understand how to or have no desire to implement safety measures.
- Lack of effective parental controls – Discord offers some basic parental control options, such as the ability to restrict who can contact a user or join their server. However, these options are not as comprehensive as most parents would like. For instance, parents may have difficulty fully monitoring all interactions or seeing every server their child joins, making it harder to ensure complete safety.
- Privacy and data collection – Discord collects user data, including interactions, device information, and activity on the platform. While many social apps do this, it is an important consideration for parents concerned about their child’s online privacy. Every action taken online is a footprint that can stay connected to the user/your child, for years to come.
Although Discord’s nearly 200 million active users would likely argue it to be helpful and engaging, the many risk factors discussed above should be cause enough to consider its usefulness.
As referenced in the above, both Protect Young Eyes and Bark have information on Discord. Use the following links to find out more:
Protect Young Eyes Discord App
Please note that although we have found valuable information from an external web page for our blog post, we do not endorse all information, religious views, and opinions posted on these third-party websites.