Discord Cancels Persona Partnership After User Revolt

Discord’s age-check experiment hit a wall: gamers do not like surprises that require real-world identity verification.

After users raised privacy concernsDiscord ended a limited UK test tied to Persona and slowed its broader age-verification plansa quick retreat that shows how fast trust can evaporate when “safety” starts to sound like “give us your ID.”

According to The VergeDiscord said the Persona test in the UK “has come to an end” after users objected to the vendor’s involvement.

The broader issue is trust and timingnot just a single provider. AP News reports Discord is postponing its global age-verification rollout to the second half of 2026 after criticism from users worried about privacysecurityand how sensitive data could be handled by third parties. Discord also signals it wants more than one way to verify age over timeand that users who choose not to verify can keep their accounts but will lose access to age-restricted spaces and certain settings changes.

This isn’t happening in a vacuum; platforms around the globe face growing pressure to keep minors away from content and communities marked for adultswhich puts age checks on the product roadmapwhether users like it or not.

The age assurance features are available to UK and Australian usersand prompts can appear when someone tries to access age-restricted servers or channels or change certain safety settings. The help article also notes that some users outside those regions may see prompts as part of experiments.

Why the Persona test became a trust problem

Discord’s communities tend to be more privacy-conscious than the average social app. Many servers are built around pseudonyms and a clear separation between online and real-world identities. So even limited age verification can read as ID checks spreading beyond the original scopeespecially if users aren’t sure where the prompts will appearwhat exactly triggers themor what data a third party will retain.

Discord’s response to the backlash was to emphasize that the Persona test was limited and is now over. Discord’s CTO said Persona didn’t meet Discord’s standards for on-device facial age estimationwhile Persona’s CEO disputed Discord’s characterizationaccording to AP. Public disagreement like that tends to intensify the questions users already ask during any verification rollout: What’s being collectedwhere is it processedhow long is it keptand what happens if something goes wrong?

Discord’s decision to end the Persona test and delay the broader rollout signals a basic reality for community-driven platforms: age checks are not just a compliance checkbox. They change how admins manage servershow members join themand whether users believe the platform will keep identity and biometrics tightly contained.

Also read: ChatGPT’s new age detection system includes ‘selfie’ verification.