Discord, an instant messaging and chat platform, was initially designed as a communication platform for gamers. Despite its widespread popularity, there are significant risks associated with its use, especially for kids; the platform has embroiled numerous video calls and text messages – including issues related to child grooming.
Some servers on Discord are themed around adult topics, which may expose children to inappropriate content; there have been reports of harmful and illegal content being shared on the platform. Contact with strangers poses significant danger to children, as Discord allows anyone over the age of 13 to join public servers. This means that predators can easily contact children. They might start by chatting with kids in kid-friendly channels and then take the conversation to direct messages, which aren’t moderated.
In hidden communities and chat rooms, adults have used Discord to groom children before abducting them or engaging in other harmful activities. Child predators have exploited Discord for sextortion—forcing minors to produce explicit content—and even abductions. Some cases involve adults grooming children on Discord for months before committing crimes. In one instance, a teen was taken across state lines, raped, and found locked in a backyard shed after being groomed on the platform. Another case involved a 22-year-old man kidnapping a 12-year-old girl he met through a video game and groomed on Discord. Discord has been implicated in cases where adults transmitted or received child sexual abuse material (CSAM). At least 91 prosecutions have resulted in guilty pleas or verdicts for such offenses.
Discord’s young user base, decentralized structure, multimedia communication tools, and recent surge in popularity make it an attractive location for those seeking to exploit children. To mitigate these risks, parents should consider setting ground rules with their children, such as joining only private servers with known individuals and adjusting privacy settings accordingly. It’s essential to have open conversations about online safety and monitor their interactions on platforms like Discord.
Protecting your child’s privacy and safety on Discord is an important step to ensure they are safeguarded from potential cybercriminals and to ensure that they have a safe and positive experience on the popular app. This guide will provide steps to properly configure your child’s privacy settings on Discord. It’s encouraged to set these settings to be as private as possible and to do so with your child present to allow for open communication and questions.
Privacy Settings
- Open Discord and log in to your child’s account.
- Select the profile icon at the bottom right of the screen.
- Tap the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
- In the Account Settings, tap on the Privacy & Safety.
- Under the Sensitive Media panel, you will see options for Direct messages from friends, Direct messages from others, Server channel messages. We suggest to Block media that may contain sensitive content.
- In the DM Spam Filter panel, choose how direct messages are filtered for spam. Choices are to Filter all, Filter from non-friends, or Do not filter direct messages.
- The Server Privacy Defaults panel allows configuration of receiving direct messages from server members. A pop-up will ask if this change should be applied to other servers where your child is also a member.
- Scroll to the Activity Status panel and disable this, so other users cannot view when they are online.
- In the Message Requests panel, disable message requests from server members that your child may not know.
- Go back to Settings and click on Account.
- Scroll down to Enable Authenticator App to set up Two-Factor Authentication for an added level of privacy.
- Go back to Settings and click on Friend Requests, then deselect all options. This can stop anyone who does not know your child from adding them.
Download a printable version of the steps above.
Family Center
If you have your own Discord profile, you can set up a Family Center, under settings, to better understand how your teen uses Discord, get insights into the communities and servers they are a part of. This is only a small step in building positive online behaviors on top of having healthy conversations about internet safety.
