Safety guide
Is Discord safe for children?
Discord requires users to be 13+. Its risk comes from servers and direct messages putting a child in contact with strangers, so the key steps are limiting who can DM them, enabling content filtering, and linking Family Center.
Recommended age
Minimum age 13. Exposure comes from shared servers and DMs rather than a public profile.
Main risks
- Minimum age is 13 — below that the app isn’t designed for the user.
- Shared servers can place your child in contact with strangers outside their friend list.
- Discord has no public-account model; exposure comes from servers and direct messages.
Safety settings checklist for Discord
- Limit who can send direct messages to existing contacts only.
- Link the platform's family-pairing / supervision tool to a parent account.
- Disable livestreaming for the account.
- Turn off account suggestions and find-by-phone/email so strangers can't discover the account.
- Enable restricted mode or the sensitive-content filter.
- Remove full name, school, age and identifiable photos from the public profile.
- Set daily screen-time or usage limits.
- Turn off activity status and read receipts.
Talking to your child
- Ask what they like about the app before talking about risks — lead with curiosity, not a lecture.
- Agree the settings together at the same screen, so it feels like a shared decision, not a punishment.
- Make it normal to tell you about anything uncomfortable — no blame for messages they didn’t ask for.
- Revisit the settings every few months; apps change defaults and your child’s use changes too.
Get a free safety score in 2 minutes
Answer a few questions and see exactly which settings to change on Discord — and get the option of a full report.