🎮 Learning games and sites · 💬 Social apps and messaging
Discord (Family Center, teen-by-default)
By Discord Inc.. Visit Discord (Family Center, teen-by-default)
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A voice, video and text chat app organized into servers and direct messages, used heavily by gamers. In February 2026 Discord announced teen-by-default settings worldwide from March: every account gets teen protections, such as blurred sensitive media, no age-gated servers and a separate inbox for DMs from unknown users, unless it is placed as adult by a behavior-based age model, an on-device selfie estimate or an ID check. Family Center gives parents an activity feed, weekly email summaries and some settings controls.
Our take: Workable for teens 13+ who mainly chat with real-life friends, with Family Center on; too open for younger children.
| Ages it suits | 13+ |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | You must be at least 13 and meet the minimum age in your country. Discord says its services are not designed for or directed to under-13s, and a parent who lets a minor use it accepts the terms for them. (terms) |
| Price | Free, with paid extras. Free (Oct 2026); Nitro is an optional paid subscription (price not shown on the page we loaded). |
| Works on | iPhone and iPad, Android, Web |
| Account | The child's own account |
| Ads | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes |
| The AI in it | A machine-learning model estimates from account behavior (not message content, Discord says) whether a user is a teen or an adult; automated filters blur sensitive images. |
What's good
- Teen protections by default for everyone not confirmed adult
- DMs from strangers go to a separate inbox
- Family Center activity feed and weekly email
- Not on Australia's under-16 restricted list
Watch for
- Open servers and voice chat with strangers
- 2025 vendor breach of ID photos sent for age checks
- New Jersey lawsuit over safety claims
- Nitro and in-app purchases
Data and privacy
Discord's privacy policy says it uses machine learning to run and improve the service and uses some data to advertise its own paid features; sponsored Quests run inside the app. Discord says its age-check vendors may not use the data for ads or AI training, and selfie estimates run on the device. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
New Jersey's attorney general sued Discord in April 2025, saying it misled parents about its safety settings; Discord disputes the claims. Discord also disclosed in October 2025 that a third-party support vendor was breached, exposing ID images of about 70,000 users who had sent them for age checks.
Alternatives to Discord (Family Center, teen-by-default)
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Apple Messages and FaceTime (Communication Safety)
Apple · ages any age with a parent-made child account; teens 13-17
Worth turning on for any child with an iPhone or iPad; pair it with contact limits for younger kids.
Desk researchFree
BeReal
BeReal SAS · ages 13+
A lower-pressure social app for teens 13+ with real-life friends; younger kids should wait.
Desk researchFree
Instagram (Teen Accounts)
Meta · ages 13+
For teens 13+ only with supervision set up in Family Center; parents should not rely on Teen Accounts alone.
Desk researchFree, with paid extrasNo ads
Kinzoo Messenger
Kinzoo · ages young kids to tweens, on a parent-made account
A good first messenger for under-13s whose friends will also join; check the in-app store settings.
Desk researchFree
Lemon8
TikTok USDS Joint Venture (US) · ages 13+
No reason for kids under 13; for teens it carries the same data terms as TikTok without TikTok's parent tools.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Messenger Kids
Meta · ages under 13 (App Store rating 4+)
A reasonable first messenger for under-13s whose family already uses Facebook; skip if you don't want Meta holding your child's messages.
Where these facts come from
- https://discord.com/terms
- https://discord.com/privacy
- https://discord.com/safety
- https://discord.com/safety-family-center
- https://discord.com/safety-parents
- https://discord.com/nitro
- https://discord.com/safety/how-discord-estimates-age-without-collecting-your-identity
- https://discord.com/safety/age-assurance-on-discord-vendors-methods-and-your-data
- https://www.medianama.com/2026/02/223-discord-teen-by-default-settings-globally-next-month/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-jersey-sues-discord/
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discord-talk-play-hang-out/id985746746
- https://heatleyss.eq.edu.au/support-and-resources/cybersafety/social-media-minimum-age
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.