Is Discord OK for my child?
Chat servers built around communities, originally for gamers. Think group chats the size of villages: some lovely, some feral, with voice, video and DMs throughout.
Minimum age
13
UK users face age checks, and teen accounts now get protective defaults globally.
Type
Messaging
Official safety page
Discord Safety CentreWhat to actually watch for
- Public servers mix children with adults around shared interests, a known grooming vector.
- NSFW servers and channels exist; age gates are self-declared outside the UK's newer checks.
- DMs from server members are on by default historically.
- It runs quietly in the background of most teenage gaming.
The settings worth switching on
Set up Discord Family Centre to see which servers and contacts your teen interacts with (not message content).
Check the teen safety defaults are active: sensitive-content filters and safer DM settings now apply to under-18 accounts.
Restrict DMs to friends-of-friends or server members you share, in Privacy settings.
Talk about which servers they are actually in; small servers of school friends are a different world from public ones.
Our honest take
Fine as the group chat for a known friendship circle, which is how most teenagers actually use it. The risk is public servers full of strangers. The 2026 teen-by-default settings and UK age assurance have improved the floor, but the "which servers" conversation is still the real control.
Frequently asked questions
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Other messaging apps parents ask about
Last reviewed: August 2026. Minimum ages and settings were checked against the platform's own published policies, and platforms change them often, so the official page linked above always has the latest.