Discord
- Your data trains their AI unless you switch it off in settings.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared only with the providers who run the service.
- The policy describes staff access for safety and legal checks.
Discord collects lots of usage data, can train on public-ish posts unless you toggle it off.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, birthday, messages, files, device details, usage logs, and sometimes partner data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We collect certain information when you use Discord. This includes information you provide to us, information we collect automatically, and information we receive from other sources.”
Training
They use your stuff to run Discord, catch rule-breaking, personalize, show sponsored content, and improve the product.
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Privacy policy
“This processing can include use of automated technologies such as machine learning systems that help us power and improve our services.”
Sharing
People in your servers can see posts; vendors, related companies, and ad platforms may get some data.
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Privacy policy
“We don’t sell your personal information. Our business is funded through subscriptions, paid products, and sponsored content, not based on selling your personal information to third parties.”
Kept
They keep data until they decide they no longer need it; live calls are generally not stored.
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Privacy policy
“We retain personal information until we determine it is no longer needed for the processing purposes for which we collected or retain it or for legal compliance.”
Controls
You can limit improvement and personalization in User Settings and delete your account there.
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Privacy policy
“You can also access other privacy-related settings in your User Settings. For example, you can decide whether to filter potentially explicit content, who can add you as a friend, and more.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Limit improvement and personalization
User Settings (gear next to your username), privacy-related settings described in How to control your privacy
Download a copy of your data
Data & Privacy section of User Settings; packet said to arrive within 30 days
Delete or disable your account
User Settings menu in the Discord app
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
They do not own your posts, but you give them a wide license to copy and change them to run and improve Discord.
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Terms of service
“you grant us a license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, display, and perform your content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of providing, developing, and improving our services”
For example, a meme you posted in a big server could be used to build catch-up or safety features.
Posts in big or public-ish servers can be used to train or power product and safety systems unless you limit that in settings.
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Privacy policy
“We may also use content posted in larger spaces to help us develop, improve, and power our services, including features that help you catch up on conversations and safety features”
For example, a joke in a Discovery server might help train tools that summarize chats or flag harmful posts.
They can lock you out anytime, and they only promise notice when they think it is reasonable.
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Terms of service
“we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and/or your access to some or all of our services with or without notice, at our discretion for any reason”
For example, your account could disappear overnight and you might lose access to servers you run.
If someone sues Discord because of how you used the app or what you posted, you may have to pay Discord’s legal bills.
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Terms of service
“You will and hold Discord and its officers, directors, employees and agents harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, and costs (including reasonable legal and accounting fees) related to (a) your access to or use of our services”
For example, if a fight over something you posted leads to a lawsuit, they can ask you to cover their lawyers.
Outside companies can send Discord extra facts about you, like demographics and what you do on other apps.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“We may also receive information about you from advertisers and third-party data providers, such as demographic information and how you engage with other products and services outside of Discord.”
For example, an advertiser might tell Discord you like certain games so they can show you Quests.
Your activity can be used to pick sponsored posts and Quests aimed at you, with some settings to limit this.
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Privacy policy
“We use your information to help us surface sponsored content (like Quests and other sponsored formats) that may be of interest to you.”
For example, games you play on Discord could be used to show you a branded Quest.
Live voice and video calls are usually not saved, though voice messages you send are treated as content.
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Privacy policy
“We generally do not store the contents of video or voice calls or channels. If we were to change that in the future (for example, to facilitate content moderation), we would disclose that to you in advance.”
For example, a late-night voice chat in a channel is not kept as a recording by default.
Reported and public content can be used to build automated safety models, and staff can review reports.
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Privacy policy
“We also use certain information, which may include content reported to us, content that violates our Terms of Service, and certain other content widely available on the service”
For example, a reported DM could be transcribed and read while they decide if it broke the rules.
Messages are encrypted on the wire and on disk, and voice/video calls are designed to be end-to-end encrypted.
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Privacy policy
“All information sent within our services is encrypted both in transit and at rest. For example, we use Transport Layer Security (“TLS”) to encrypt text and images in transit.”
For example, someone sniffing your Wi-Fi should not be able to read your text chat in transit.
You must be at least 13 (or older where the law says so). They ask for a birthday and may extra-check age.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“By accessing our services, you confirm that you’re at least 13 years old and meet the minimum age required by the laws in your country.”
For example, a 12-year-old is not allowed even if a parent wants them on Discord.
You can shut the account off or delete it yourself in settings; some data may still be kept for legal reasons.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can disable or delete your account via the User Settings menu. Disabling your account stops the processing of new data, but allows you to reactivate your account without interruption to you.”
For example, you can hit delete in User Settings instead of emailing support first.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- sell or share
- Under California law, selling means passing your data to others for money or other value; sharing means passing it on for targeted ads. For example, letting an ad network use your browsing history in return for ad space counts as a sale.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- human review
- Company staff or contractors may read your messages or content, usually to check for rule breaking. For example, a flagged private chat with an AI can be read by a person at the company.
How we got here · grade B · score 50/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account info, birthday, your messages and files, device data like IP and OS, usage logs, cookies, and extra data from advertisers and partners. Contact sync is optional.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Live voice and video calls are processed to make the call work and are generally not stored. Voice messages you send are kept as content you created.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Content in larger spaces can be used to develop and power features, including machine learning. User Settings let you limit use of your data to improve the services.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They say Trust and Safety uses reports, scans, and sometimes transcriptions to enforce rules and the law. They do not describe routine sampling of private chats for product review.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They personalize sponsored content, use cookies, get data from advertisers, and send limited info to advertising platforms to measure and target Discord’s own ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell personal information. They share with vendors, related companies, and limited ad/measurement partners to run Discord and its ads.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep ownership. You grant a worldwide, sublicensable license only to provide, develop, and improve the services. Feedback gets a perpetual irrevocable license.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete the account in User Settings, but they keep personal information until they decide it is no longer needed or the law requires it. No 30- or 90-day wipe is stated here.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and end-to-end encryption for calls, and they point people to a security vulnerability reporting page.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be at least 13 and give a birthday. They may take extra steps to check age, and some settings differ by age, but signup is still based on what you declare.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policies are dated. They say they will give a more prominent notice or reasonable advance notice for significant or material changes.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can suspend or terminate for any reason with or without notice, though they say they will give advance notice if reasonable or required by law.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is “as is,” liability is capped at three months of payments or $100, and you must indemnify Discord for claims tied to your use or content.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 5,500 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 33.7); the terms are 9,329 words at a professional or legal expert level.
