Is Discord Safe?


Millions of users worldwide send voice calls, video calls, text messages, and sensitive media over Discord servers every day. But, some people are afraid to use Discord altogether, citing concerns around privacy and cyber security. So, are these fears rational?

Is Discord safe?

Generally speaking, Discord is not safe. The platform is vulnerable to hackers, has a questionable privacy policy, and doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption.

CategoryChildrenBusiness
Is Discord safe?NoNo
Safety concernsPotential exposure to inappropriate contentPredatorsNo backups, so potential data lossStored or shared files can be stolen
Alternatives to considerFacebook Messenger KidsGoogle HangoutsSlackMicrosoft Teams

This article will look at how safe your messages and media are on Discord and answer some critical questions like Is Discord safe from hackers? Is Discord secure for business? And is Discord safe for young children? We’ll also go over how messages are encrypted on Discord.

Is Discord Safe From Hackers?

The short answer to this question is no – Discord is not safe from hackers, and it’s relatively easy to hack Discord servers.

That said, Discord regularly updates its product to beef up security and privacy settings in an effort to make the platform more secure.

Although Discord can be hacked, that doesn’t mean that you will be hacked while chatting over a Discord server. In reality, good hackers can hack the biggest tech giants in the world. Not even government agencies, such as the CIA or FBI, are immune to being hacked.

In other words, nothing is safe from hackers!

You should be concerned about hackers in general, but there’s no reason to think you’ll be targeted while using Discord. A hacker would be just as likely to hack your bank account or social media. Unless you are a high-profile individual, your chances of getting hacked on Discord remain very low.

Is Discord Safe For Business?

Again, the simple answer here is no. Discord is not secure for businesses. Consider much safer communication platforms for business purposes, such as Slack.

There are a few problems with using Discord for business.

Most importantly, the way that Discord collects personal data is very suspicious. They don’t give users an option to consent to data collection (by signing up, you consent).

The privacy policy states“..collect and use personal information with your consent.”, and it goes on to claim “You can revoke your consent at any time, though note that you might not be able to use any service or feature that requires collection or use of that personal information.”

Two main issues there:

  1. There are no clear instructions about how to revoke consent.
  2. If you withdraw consent, you lose functionality: will you even have access to the Discord features you need to conduct business?

Their personal data collection policy alone should scare most businesses off. And for companies that routinely communicate sensitive information while conducting business online…no, thank you!

The next major problem is that Discord offers no protection whatsoever against malware. The platform allows users to send whatever files they want over the servers and doesn’t vet those files. This means that anyone can potentially send malware to infect your computer or, even worse, your network. Trojans, viruses, bots, you name it, every sort of malicious file can and is sent over Discord every day.

Finally, Discord tracks your IP and logs all of your activity the second you log on. The terminology is vague, but they may collect data from your personal social media accounts if you’ve connected them to the platform.

So, these are four excellent reasons to stay away from using Discord to conduct business online.

Again, it’s unlikely that you’ll get hacked or that anything bad will ever happen to you while using Discord. But taking that risk as a gamer chatting with your friends is one thing…taking that risk as a business is entirely different.

We suggest erring on the side of caution and choosing a more secure platform for your business. Look into Slack or Microsoft Teams as Discord alternatives for your business.

Is Discord Safe For Children?

This question is a bit more challenging to answer. The short answer is, again, probably not. But Discord has implemented several policies designed to protect minors using the platform.

For instance, Discord requires that users be at least 13 years old to access the service. They don’t verify the identity of users before granting access to the site, but it’s a good policy in theory.

Generally speaking, all Discord servers are “private” servers, which means that you connect to chat rooms only after being invited by somebody you already know, such as a friend or family member.

Private servers are a great security feature, and its part of the reason Discord has been as successful as it’s been. However, there have been instances of predators hacking into Discord servers and sending messages to minors. These incidents are rare, but that’s unlikely to give you any comfort if it happens to your child.

Discord also has an “open chat”, which isn’t a private server. Because all of the content in open chat rooms is user-generated, children can be exposed to plenty of inappropriate content.

Discord also designates certain channels as “NSFW” or “Not Safe For Work,” which is internet lingo for adult content or pornography.

This designation is meant to dissuade kids from entering those rooms, but then again, any kid who knows what that means is probably not going to self-discipline. It would be nice if Discord would regulate adult content with age verification, but isn’t a feature that’s likely to be implemented anytime soon.

Are Discord Messages Encrypted?

The answer to this is “yes… but”.

Yes Discord does have standard encryption, but does not feature end-to-end encryption, meaning that Discord is not meant for encrypted communication.

It would be nice if Discord committed to protect the privacy of their 350 million active users, but it doesn’t seem like that would fit with their agenda of collecting personal information.

Conclusion: How Safe Is Discord?

All things considered, Discord is not safe. It can easily be hacked, it’s not safe for businesses to use, it’s open chat function is risky for children to use.

Discord allows people to send harmful files, doesn’t provide end-to-end encryption, and it appears as though, for the most part, they just can’t be bothered.

Emidio Amadebai

Emidio is an IT Engineer, Technology enthusiast, Blogger, and Author who loves to learn and share everything he learns along the way with others.

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