Parents' Guide to

Discord

By Patricia Monticello Kievlan, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

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

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Mac , Android , Windows app Free Social Networking
Discord Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Discord App: Screenshot #1
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Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 157 parent reviews

LeinadDL
LeinadDL Adult
November 29, 2021
age 13+

Misunderstood

Discord has gotten a lot of hate because of kids meeting preditors and things like that and yes its not good and should not happen but its one not all discords fault. Discord's TOS says that you have to be 13 and up and is I think is good. most 13 year olds have some sense of whats right and whats wrong unlike a 9 year old who most likely wont know what right and wrong. With anything online privacy is important and discord has setting that make it easy. You can chose to disable DM from servers, disable dms from everyone you are not friends with. With adult content or 18+ things you have to know that you kid will not be a Angle and they will eventually find adult content. Ok now with that done what are the good things about it. Discord is really easy to use and straight forward. Discord has servers were you can join and talk about lots of different topics from things like video games to things like photography Discord also makes it so much easier to talk to people and the voice chat is one of the best quality. Ovral I love discord and I hope this made you understand it more
VenomousInk
VenomousInk Adult
November 11, 2019
age 13+

It's straight up awful

Voice chat is constantly being cut out, connections are highly unstable, Links won't appear as they should, files won't send, the 'store' was a massive mistake on their part, features that should be free are locked behind a paywall which is too expensive. Overall, this is garbage. I moved here from Skype because that was bad, and now I'm going back to it. Back in the day, Discord was great, now it's just another version of Skype with some bells and whistles, nothing more. I'd rather use Messenger.
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What’s It About?

DISCORD is an app designed to help users talk to each other in real time. Users can log in and enter a group chat with one or more people. Connecting with friends involves joining an existing topic-based server or sending an email invitation. Using the Nearby feature when adding friends (and with location features turned on), you can find friends who are close to you. You can also block users and avoid content you don't want to see. Family Center is a feature that allows parents and caregivers to monitor their kids' activity on the app once they create an account of their own and link it to their child's account. Discord was originally designed for gamers to use to talk as they play -- and it's well-suited for that. It's since been opened up to host other communities, though, as well: Currently, groups exist that involve a variety of topics. There's also a feature called Student Hubs that allows students to sign up with their school email address and be connected to a private server with only people from their school. Here they can form study groups and also create servers based on specific interests (chess, volunteering, video games, etc.) that are much like clubs at school.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (157 ):
Kids say (449 ):

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about your rules for messaging and social networking. How old do your kids have to be to use social networks like Discord? What are your family's rules about devices and when they're appropriate to use?

  • What's OK to share on social media, and what's off-limits? Check out our parent guide for privacy and internet safety to get advice and good conversation starters for your kids.

  • Families can talk about setting up the Family Center settings on Discord so parents can monitor their kids' usage. Can you create a social media contract between parents and kids that details best practices and safety rules for how kids use Discord? This is a great activity for kids and their trusted adults to do together so that the agreement is mutual and both feel like it's a fair compromise.

App Details

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