Discord says it has built an age estimation model based on 'account signals' to determine an user's age group.
Discord is re-introducing its age verification policy eight months after its first attempt, saying it has built an age estimation model based on "account signals." Moreover, it will now be offering more verification options rather than exclusively asking users to submit face scans or identity documents.
In an announcement shared yesterday, penned by Discord CTO and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy, the company outlined "more transparent" steps when it comes to age verification. This the second attempt after Discord said it failed at its "most basic job" with the initial February rollout, acknowledging that it knew it would prove to be controversial, and that it failed to clearly explain why it was being implemented in the first place.
The unclear communication led a large part of its user base to believe that almost everybody needed to submit identity documents or face scans in order to continue using the app. Vishnevskiy claims the contrary, saying that more than 90 percent of existing users won't have to go through age verification.
This is in part due to an age estimation model based on account-level signals (how long an account has existed) and payment methods on file, which are used to estimate a user's age and place them in either the adult or teen age group, the latter spanning the age of 13-17 and having additional protections.
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