Discord safety for young users: settings and risks
Discord targets adults but is heavily used by children and teenagers. The platform has public servers with unmoderated content, direct messages from strangers, and default settings that are far from safe for young users.
Discord safety for young users
Discord targets adults but is heavily used by children and teenagers. The platform has public servers with unmoderated content, direct messages from strangers, and default settings that are far from safe for young users.
Who this guide is for
This guide is for parents of children and teenagers who use Discord, and for teenagers who want to secure their own account.
The settings here reduce the risk of inappropriate contact and unwanted content. They don’t make Discord a safe platform for younger children — but they significantly lower the most common daily risks.
What you gain, and what it costs
What you gain:
- less chance of inappropriate DM contact
- less exposure to unmoderated or hostile server spaces
- better baseline account security for a platform that is risky by default
What it costs:
- five to ten minutes going through settings
- occasional follow-up conversations about which servers a child is in
- accepting that settings reduce risk, but do not turn Discord into a child-safe platform
When this is overkill
If Discord is only used lightly by an older teenager who already knows the risks, you may not need every restriction here. Focus first on DMs, friend requests, and 2FA.
If you are dealing with a younger child and want a truly reliable boundary, settings alone are not enough. Blocking Discord entirely is more dependable than trusting the platform’s safety model, because Discord has no real parental dashboard. Full blocking is possible via DNS filtering on your router: AdGuard Home or Pi-hole.
Minimum age
Discord officially requires users to be 13 or older. There is no age verification. Children under 13 on Discord violate the terms of service and COPPA (in the US) / GDPR (in the EU).
Block direct messages from strangers
By default, anyone in the same server can send a DM to anyone else. This is the biggest risk vector for grooming.
User Settings → Privacy & Safety → Who can send you a direct message request:
Choose: Friends or Nobody.
Also disable: Allow direct messages from server members — this prevents anyone from a shared server from making contact without being your friend first.
Safety scans for media messages
Privacy & Safety → Safe Direct Messaging
Set to: Scan media content from everyone — Discord then filters images for explicit content before they’re shown.
Restricting servers
Public Discord servers have no age controls and can contain explicit content (NSFW channels). Even servers that appear harmless (gaming, anime) can have subchannels with inappropriate content.
What parents can do:
- Review which servers your child has joined via the server list
- Go through new servers together before your child joins
- An open conversation works better than controls alone: see talking to your child about online safety
What teenagers can do:
- Be selective about which servers you join — large public servers have less moderation
- Report inappropriate content using the report function (right-click a message → Report)
Restricting friend requests
Privacy & Safety → Who can send you a friend request:
Choose: Friends of Friends or Server Members instead of Everyone.
Setting up two-factor authentication
For the account itself: enable 2FA to prevent account takeover.
User Settings → My Account → Enable Two-Factor Auth
Use an authenticator app such as Aegis.
Screen sharing risks
Discord has a screen share function that’s popular among gamers. Warn young users about the risk: when you share your screen, the other person can see everything on it — including notifications, other apps, and personal information.
Never enable screen sharing with people you don’t know in person.
What Discord knows
Discord stores: which servers you’re in, your message history, your IP address, device information, and voice/video activity. Discord can in principle read messages.
For genuinely private communication with friends: use Signal. Discord is not a privacy tool and is not suitable for sensitive conversations.
If something goes wrong
If your child receives inappropriate messages, is contacted by a suspicious adult, or sees content that shouldn’t exist:
- Take a screenshot (evidence)
- Block the person (click username → Block)
- Report to Discord (right-click message → Report)
- Talk to a trusted adult
- Anonymous help is also possible via Helpwanted.nl
Next step
Go further
- Talking to your child about online safety — reduce risk through recognition, boundaries, and open conversation
- TikTok privacy settings — similar approach for TikTok
Profiles
- Profile: family and children — digital safety in the family
Reviews
- Signal and Molly review — for private messaging with friends