Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out

[alextecplayz@techhub.social]

@gerenuk @verge The problem is that you can never, ever trust an online platform to keep your data safe.

And speaking specifically about Discord, back in October 2025 their third-party age verification provider was hacked and 70,000 users had their ID "potentially leaked" (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8jmzd972leo).

You can't really change the details on your ID, such as your social security number (US) / personal numeric code and other serialized information that is highly specific to YOU, which makes this info a lot more valuable to a hacker than a CC which can be cancelled and re-issued.

And that's just Discord.

AU10TIX, a platform used by X/Twitter, TikTok, Uber, LinkedIn, Fiverr, PayPal, based in Israel had been leaking drivers' licenses for over a year before it was discovered in 2024. The credentials were harvested in 2022 and posted to Telegram in 2023 (https://www.techdirt.com/2024/06/28/yet-another-id-verification-service-breached-exposing-private-info-collected-on-behalf-of-uber-tiktok-more/).

Sharing your ID should be the last thing you should ever do on the Internet.

[woozle@toot.cat]

@kinsale42 aka "the water this baby is in is totally dirty now, so time to toss the whole thing..." yeah.

@netskaven @verge

[pandacab@ni.hil.ist]

@woozle

By "them", I meant alternatives.

@feorag @netskaven @verge

[woozle@toot.cat]

@PandaCab

I have to disagree, then; I've been actively searching for alternatives for years now, and so far the only two remotely viable candidates have been the ones I mentioned (Revolt and Matrix), which both have obstacles to adoption.

(Not insurmountable; just not as easy as, say, switching from Slack to Discord was.)

@feorag @netskaven @verge

[alextecplayz@techhub.social]

@gerenuk @verge "only adult content will be locked behind a verification wall, which isn’t something bad I think"

A noble idea, but the execution is abysmal, because lawmakers are lobbied by right-wing, conservative groups like the EPP (EU) and bi-partisan bills such as KOSA to basically implement a blunt tool, a sledgehammer, where only a hammer is needed. Everyone is looking for a magical solution to this that is unhackable, unbreachable, safe, secure, etc.

But the solution just isn't sending your ID to third-party for-profit companies around the world, which then at the some point end up in the hands of advertisers and hackers.

EDRi has a great article on the pitfalls and actual solutions that we can implement instead of this digital age verification bullshit: https://edri.org/our-work/age-verification-gains-traction-eu-risks-failing-to-address-the-root-causes-of-online-harm/

[pandacab@ni.hil.ist]

@woozle

I found at least 4, with various degrees of similitudes with discord.

Also, I have to point out the very obvious: you won't be able to leave discord and get the same thing. I know it is silly to point out, but in my experience, it is hard to really internalise for many.

@feorag @netskaven @verge

[flamekebab@toot.wales]

@verge amazing. Hopefully this'll help kill the shitey thing off as people's go-to platform. Horrible place.

[woozle@toot.cat]

@PandaCab

Nobody's asking for identical; just similar-enough (...like Discord vs. Slack)

What are the 4(+) you found?

@feorag @netskaven @verge

[nullware@mastodon.social]

@verge I'll jump ship when the pop-up appears for this. We've already seen enough nonsense that shows how harmful this can be.

Unfortunately, moving on from these non-federated platforms is such a pain since you gotta either force people to move with you or forego that contact.

[pandacab@ni.hil.ist]

@woozle

I have to ask: what if there is nothing similar? This is what I mean by "not get the same thing".

I still have to try them but the alternatives I found (again, to be fair, I haven't tried yet) pumble, guilded, rocket.chat and mattermost.

@feorag @netskaven @verge

[woozle@toot.cat]

@PandaCab

Somewhere I typed up a list of my requirements (I can't speak for everyone); I'll have to dig that up..

Revolt does actually meet them all, afaict; the only obstacles are logistical/strategic.

I'm familiar(ish) with RocketChat and Mattermost, but was underwhelmed; I'll have to investigate the other two (thanks for the leads!).

@feorag @netskaven @verge

[kriom@framapiaf.org]

@verge Discord self-destructs

[intelgraphy@infosec.exchange]

@verge Wooow... I'd have to jump ship soon then.

[azninsect@kind.social]

@verge strange optics considering they got hacked and this data got leaked for their UK users

[hackillu@mas.to]

@verge What?! Why do they always want an ID? Why can't they tell people to go to the DMV for once? Can't they at least make the surveillance inconvenient?

[inchulk@mastodon.green]

@verge I rarely use Discord, and don't like it much, so no loss when I cancel my membership.

[darryl_ramm@hachyderm.io]

@verge

Discord can fuck off.

[tobu@fosstodon.org]

@gerenuk @verge
Hacks aside, DHS/ICE/other arms of a fascist state will be able to tie community membership to identities more easily, over time this can lead to China style control over dissenting speech.
But even before that happens, Project 2025 just wants to treat LGBTQ communities/topics as adult only. Without decentralised, easily self hosted, numerous alternatives to discord, these vulnerable groups get the double whammy of being doxxed and of rejecting younglings that need them.

[sheislaurence@mastodon.social]

@verge @Bellingcat what's going to happen to your community then?

[fuzz_ra@kind.social]

@verge

It's just as well I'd rather drink a pint of hot and chunky sick than use discord.

Putting useful stuff in a members-only corporate silo is the action of a thoughtless moron and I'm not going to join the lunacy.

Also, I really don't need yet another account for yet another thing I hate.