Discord’s Privacy Policy (effective September 2025) sounds friendly, “we care about your privacy”, but underneath, it’s a detailed playbook for how the company runs your conversations, moderates content, and markets itself.
They don’t sell your personal info.
They do collect almost everything you do on the app.
Let’s make sense of that.
What Discord Collects About You
1. What you give them
When you create an account, you hand over:
- Username, password, birthday
- Email or phone number
- Profile details, bio, picture
- Anything you say, send, or upload (messages, emojis, voice clips, images)
💡 They say they don’t store voice or video calls, at least not yet. If that changes, they promise to tell you first.
If you buy Nitro or other paid products, payment details go through processors like Stripe or PayPal. Discord only keeps fragments (like the last four digits of your card).
2. What Discord collects automatically
Even if you never type a word, Discord’s still learning about you:
- IP address, device type, operating system
- Browser info and device settings (including mic and camera access)
- Which servers you join, channels you visit, or games you play
- Cookies and activity data, including how you interact with Discord ads elsewhere
Basically, your digital trail helps them keep Discord running, personalize features, and spot potential rule-breakers.
3. What others share about you
If you link accounts (Spotify, Xbox, Twitch, etc.) or use bots, Discord can get data from those services, like what game you’re playing or song you’re listening to.
When someone tags you or interacts with you across connected apps, that info might flow back into Discord too.
Think of it as a “data echo.” Every connected platform bounces something back.
How Discord Uses Your Data
Discord groups its uses into five buckets, here’s what that really means:
1. To make the app work
Messages, calls, emojis, friend requests, all that needs processing.
They use your info to:
- Deliver chats, calls, and uploads
- Sync your devices and settings
- Handle payments and subscriptions
That’s the “contractual obligation” part, the stuff needed to actually run Discord.
2. To keep things safe
Discord’s Trust & Safety team uses your data to:
- Detect and act on violations (spam, scams, harassment, CSAM)
- Review reports and flagged content
- Train automated moderation systems using real user content
They may analyze public posts, usernames, or images to teach their systems what “bad” looks like.
3. To personalize your experience
Discord tailors what you see, servers, events, “Quests,” and suggestions, based on your activity.
You can tweak or disable this personalization under User Settings → Privacy & Safety.
4. To advertise, their own stuff
Discord advertises itself, not third-party brands.
They’ll share limited, non-identifying info (like app installs or referral data) with platforms like Google or Meta to measure ad effectiveness.
5. To meet legal obligations
They keep or share data when required by law, court orders, or safety situations, like responding to police investigations or preventing harm.
Who Discord Shares Data With
- Vendors & partners: payment processors, cloud hosts, analytics providers
- Other users: depends on your privacy settings and which servers you join
- Law enforcement: if required or if someone’s safety is at risk
- Affiliates: like Discord Netherlands BV (EU operations)
- If they get sold or merge: your data moves with the company
- Aggregated data: anonymized stats shared publicly or with partners
Example: they might say “1 million users completed Quests last month,” without naming anyone.
How Long They Keep It
Discord holds data as long as needed for the reason it was collected, or longer if legally required.
When you delete your account, your identifiable data is wiped, and leftover information gets anonymized.
Moderation records or financial data may stay a bit longer for legal compliance.
How Discord Protects Your Data
- All data is encrypted in transit and at rest (using TLS).
- Voice and video calls are end-to-end encrypted.
- Employee access is limited with strict internal controls.
- You can add two-factor authentication to secure your account.
How You Control Your Privacy
You actually get decent tools here.
Inside your Discord settings:
- Turn off personalization and product improvement tracking
- Filter explicit content
- Limit who can add or message you
- Choose whether Discord shows your game/music activity
Managing your presence:
- Avoid public servers if privacy matters
- Be careful with invite links, some servers are discoverable by anyone
Account control:
- Disable your account (pause everything)
- Delete your account (erase identifying data permanently)
- Request your data anytime, delivered in JSON format within ~30 days
Where Your Data Lives
Discord is U.S.-based but stores info globally.
They follow EU-approved rules (called standard contractual clauses) for transferring data from Europe to the U.S. and comply with the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
If you’re in the EU, UK, Brazil, or California, you get extra rights:
- Access, correct, delete, or export your data
- Limit processing or object to it
- Withdraw consent anytime
Contact: privacy@discord.com or dpo@discord.com for EU users.
Third-Party Bots and Apps
This is the sneaky part.
Discord lets developers build bots, games, and apps that live inside servers, but those are third parties, not Discord.
They must have their own privacy policies, but Discord doesn’t actively enforce them.
If you add a bot, you’re trusting another company with access to your messages, profile, or server data.
The Takeaway
Discord isn’t selling your data, but it is using it, to keep you safe, improve the platform, and keep you engaged.
Their privacy controls are better than most, but the real power is still in your hands.
- Adjust your settings.
- Be cautious with bots and public servers.
- Remember: “private server” doesn’t always mean “private data.”