Discord Safety: What Parents Need to Know

Discord is a popular app for communicating via text, voice, video chats, screen-sharing, and streaming. You can also join and create communities using public and private servers. With Discord rising in popularity, parents may be wondering if it is safe for children. This wikiHow article answers all your question.

Is Discord Safe For Children?

Discord can be safe as long as you use all the safety features and talk to your kids about online safety. Discord's Terms of Service say you need to be 13 and older to create an account. You can use Family Center to monitor your teen's activity. Do not allow direct messages from anyone they do not know.

Section 1 of 8:

Is Discord safe for children?

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There are numerous privacy features that allow you to control who can send you direct messages and friend requests. Parents can also use Family Center to monitor what servers their child joins, as well as who sends them direct messages and friend requests. As with any social media or communications platform, there is always a risk that your child may be exposed to inappropriate material or shady people. Parents need to talk to their children and make sure they understand online safety.

Section 2 of 8:

What is the appropriate age for Discord?

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Discord's terms of service say that you have to be 13 or older to create an account. This is generally a good age for kids to start using social media with a parent's permission. However, it is the parent's responsibility to determine if their child is mature enough and has enough of an understanding of online safety to use apps like Discord on their own. Despite the rules, there are children under the age of 13 who use Discord.

Section 3 of 8:

What are the safety features?

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1
Disable friend requests from people you don't know. You can disable friend requests from everyone, friends of friends, or server members. It is recommended that kids disable friend requests from everyone or only allow friends of friends to send friend requests Use the following steps to do so:
- Open the Discord app on your computer.
- Click the Gear icon next to your username at the bottom of the menu to the left.
- Click Friend requests.
- Click the toggle switch to disable friend requests from "Everyone."
- Click the toggle switch to disable friend requests from "Friends of Friends."
- Click the toggle switch to disable friend requests from "Server members."
2
Enable the Sensitive Content filter. The Sensitive Content filter can block or blur images and messages that may contain sensitive material that may be inappropriate for kids. This option is set to blur automatically for teen accounts. You can use the following steps to adjust the Sensitive Content filter settings:^{[1]
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- Open the Discord app on your computer.
- Click the Gear icon next to your username at the bottom of the menu to the left.
- Click Privacy & Safety.
- Set "Direct Messages from Friends" to "Blur" or "Block."
- Set "Direct Messages from Others" to "Blur" or "Block."
- Set "Server Messages" to "Blur."
3
Set Direct Message settings for individual servers. This allows you to set Direct Messages for individual servers. This allows you to trust messages from some servers and block others. Use the following steps to set Direct Message settings for individual servers.
- Open the Discord app on your computer.
- Click the Gear icon next to your username at the bottom of the menu to the left.
- Click Privacy & Safety.
- Click the Server Settings tab.
- Use the drop-down menu to select a server.
- Click the toggle switch to enable or disable "Direct Messages."
- Click the toggle switch to enable or disable "Message Requests" from people you may not know.

Section 4 of 8:

Is there adult content on Discord?

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Discord allows adult content in servers marked as "Age Restricted." As with any social media platform, some users may post content that is not appropriate for children. Servers that explicitly allow adult content are required to be marked with an "Age Restricted" label as per Discord's terms of service. Children will not be allowed to enter servers that have an age restricted label. Adults will also be notified that the server contains adult content and they will be asked if they want to continue.^{[2]
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- Even though Discord has age-restricted servers, kids can easily bypass the age-restriction by entering the wrong birthday when they create an account. If you decide to allow your kids to use Discord, you should create their account with them so that you can make sure they do it right.
- If you are over 18 and locked out of age-restricted servers, you will need to submit an appeal and include a picture of a photo ID. You can submit an appeal here.^{[3]
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Section 5 of 8:

Does Discord have parental controls?

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Discord does not have a way for parents to block children from changing the safety settings. Discord does have Family Center which will give parents a weekly email reports on how their children are using Discord, who they are connecting with, and what servers they join.

Section 6 of 8:

How do you set up Family Center?

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You can set up Family Center on the desktop and mobile app. To set up Family Center you need to download the Discord mobile app for your phone and set up an account. Then your teen needs to opt in and allow you to connect to their account as the parent. Family Center will show what servers your teen joins, who they are friends with, and who is sending them direct messages. It does not send you transcripts of the direct messages. Use the following steps to set up Family Center:^{[4]
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- Have your teen open the Discord app on their computer.
- Click the Gear icon next to your teen's username at the bottom of the menu to the left.
- Click Family Center.
- Click the Settings tab.
- Click the toggle switch next to "Enable Family Center."
- Open the Discord app on your mobile phone and sign in to your account.
- Tap your profile icon in the lower-right corner.
- Tap Family Center.
- Tap Connect with Teen.
- Use your phone to scan the QR code under "Connect with Parent" on your teen's Discord app.

Section 7 of 8:

Are there predators on Discord?

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As with any open platform, where people communicate in an open space, predators can target kids, especially in the DMs. Many servers have moderators that try to look out for this kind of behavior. You can protect your kids by making sure they do not accept direct messages from people they don't know, and talking to them about how to stay safe on the internet.

Section 8 of 8:

What else can I do to keep my kids safe?

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No amount of safety features can keep your kids completely safe. It is up to the parent to talk to their kids and make sure they know how to stay safe online. According to computer expert Luigi Oppido, parents are never going to be able to lock down everything completely. Kids can find ways around parental controls. Parents need to talk to their kids about what kind of personal information they should and should not share online. Make sure they understand the dangers of online predators and that they know not to talk to strangers online or in real life. Make sure they know never to meet with someone they met online in real life without supervision from their parents.^{[5]
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Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

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