Parents' Guide to

Discord

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Common Sense Media Review

Patricia Monticello Kievlan By Patricia Monticello Kievlan , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Voice and video chat; slick features, some mature content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 13+

Based on 166 parent reviews

age 10+

Its fine, everyone is overreacting.

As long as: A: you are a good parent B: you have a good child C: They have good friends D: they use an alias online you are fine. This website uses "servers" which are their version of group chats, and you have to click on an invite link that somebody else sent you to join one. Or, if the server is public (most are), it CANT have any NSFW channels. this can only be bypassed if somebody makes their own server and deliberately adds NSFW marked channels, in which EVERY POST has to censored, and you have to click to uncensor. Also, you cant bypass this if your under 18. Nothing about your kids personal life will be shown to others, unless your kid shows it to others. If your kid is around puberty age, please just accept that they have seen porn and don't take away discord from them, its not discords fault. Your kid was curious and found it online. They had to go searching far and wide to find it anywhere on discord.
age 10+

This is a great app for tweens/teens ages 10-13+

It is a great site and is used for communication between gamers my 9 yearold son uses it evryday to talk with this friends when hes playing a game also most of these reviews made my adults are bad they are about the app but not the stuff that helps parents like is it safe or does it have predictors. while discord does have predictors they are extremely rare 2/100 and most of the people are kids or teen's i let my kid use it for hanging out with his friends. There is content that people share in the chats thats bad but the admins or mods take it down before they see it.There is rarely swear words but other then that its a great app i would recommend it to ages 11-12+

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (166 ):
Kids say (487 ):

While this chat tool was originally gaming-focused -- built for gamers, by gamers -- in 2020, the developers announced it was repositioning itself as a place for communities involving other subject matter. Discord allows people to create a chat server and connect with a group of people. In addition to gaming fans, there are communities that focus on movies, music, and numerous other topics. Users can create a group for family members, fans of a TV show, or another subject, and appoint a moderator and administrator. There are desktop app versions of the platform for Windows and Macs, and iOS and Android apps are available for mobile devices. There's also a web browser version. Discord is free to use. You can also sign up for Discord Nitro, the premium subscription tier ($9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year) that offers benefits such as bigger upload size limits, HD video for streaming and screen-sharing, animated avatars, and custom emojis.

While Discord's intention to remain free and constantly improve its available functionalities is impressive, it's still a social network that's primarily meant for adults. Though the developers are committed to fostering a positive online space, there have been issues with abusive language and unkind behavior. Used wisely and sparingly, Discord may be a fit for teens. A closed network of people, for instance, would likely be a safer option than one of the public groups. With thoughtful limits set by parents and an ongoing dialogue about ways it would be acceptable to use the app, it could be used as a tool to help teens who are interested in gaming -- and other specific topics -- talk with their friends in real time. At least some guidance and supervision would likely be a good idea, though.

App Details

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