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UK Discord users are facing a change in how their personal data is handled as the platform prepares for its “teen-by-default” global rollout.
What began as a promise of localized, device-only security has now pivoted into what Discord calls an “experiment,” leaving many questioning the safety of their biometric information.
At the heart of the controversy is a major change to Discord’s age verification process. Originally, the company explicitly assured users that video selfies submitted for facial age estimation would “never leave a user’s device.”
However, according to Eurogamer, British users have recently discovered a quiet update to the platform’s FAQ. It reveals that some may now be funnelled through a different vendor, Persona, where verification data will actually leave the phone.
Under this new “experiment,” the selfie and identification information provided by UK users will be temporarily stored on Persona’s servers for up to seven days before deletion. While Discord maintains that “all details are blurred except your photo and date of birth,” the shift from on-device processing to cloud storage represents a significant departure from previous privacy guarantees.
Industry analysts suggest this pivot may be a response to users finding ways to “cheese” the system of Discord’s other partner, k-ID. By moving data to Persona’s servers, the platform may be seeking a more robust – albeit more invasive – way to verify ages. Yet, the security of this data remains a sore point; only last October, a breach of a third-party support system at Discord resulted in the compromise of government IDs.
The backlash isn’t limited to data storage alone. Users have also raised red flags over the entities behind Persona, which include the investment fund of Peter Thiel, the founder of the controversial surveillance firm Palantir. The connection to a company known for providing data services to federal agencies has sparked a fresh wave of scepticism regarding the ultimate destination and use of user metadata.
As the mandatory age-verification rollout begins in early March, users who refuse to participate will find themselves locked out of age-gated channels, unable to bypass sensitive content filters and restricted from receiving direct messages from new contacts.
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