Safety Rating Explanation: Discord poses a serious risk for grooming and should not be used by kids.
What Is Discord?
Discord is a popular communication platform designed primarily for gamers, but it has since expanded to serve various communities. It allows users to create or join servers, which are like virtual meeting places for specific interests or groups. Within these servers, members can engage in text, voice, and video conversations, making it easy to connect with friends and like-minded individuals. Discord offers features like channels for organizing discussions, direct messages for one-on-one conversations, and voice/video chat rooms for real-time interactions.
Who Can My Child Talk to on Discord?
Because Discord is an open platform, it has the potential to allow unmonitored interactions with strangers. This creates an opportunity for grooming and other inappropriate contact with unknown individuals. The platform’s potential for anonymous audio communication, paired with its lack of an age verification mechanism, equips predators with the tools to build some level of trust with a child before engaging in exploitative practices.
What Can My Child View on Discord?
Children can see a variety of content on Discord, largely dependent on the servers they join and the messages sent to them. Public servers and engaging with strangers pose the greatest threat of exposure to explicit chats, images, videos, and links to other sites.
What to Do About Discord
If a child is allowed to use Discord at all, parents should monitor their child’s activity closely to ensure that they are not being exploited by predators. The best practice, however, would be to not use Discord.
