Discord begins testing age verification with Google Wallet and credit cards, but face scans are still on the table

Back in February 2026, Discord announced plans to add facial and document scans to verify users’ ages. People responded very negatively, to the point where they began researching Discord alternatives. Soon after its announcement, Discord said it was delaying its plans; it still wanted to verify age somehow, but it also wanted to explore other means.

Now, four months later, Discord is once again nervously dipping a toe back into the world of age verification. This time around, it’s planning to use Google Wallet and credit card details as a means of checking if people are over 18, but it doesn’t seem like it’s giving up on the face scan idea, too.

Face scans are still there, but they’re just one of a few ways to verify

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Discord has updated its documentation on how to perform an age assurance check on its platform. For a while, all the page listed was a message about the initial delay and instructions for the face scan method, but recently, the following note was added to the top:

Note: Between June and July 2026, we’re testing a few new age assurance methods including Google Wallet and credit card check to provide more options for the small percentage of users who may need to manually age assure.

The idea behind this method of age verification is that if someone owns a credit card, they’re over 18 and can access adult content. If done correctly, it could be a good, non-invasive way to verify someone’s age, especially if they are already paying for Discord Nitro and boosts with a card.

So, does this mean face scans are gone? Well, not quite. Discord adds that it’s also testing “ID scan and Selfie methods” with a new vendor called Incode. This is likely in response to concerns about Discord’s previous partner that leaked 70,000 ID photos and stresses that this new ID method is strictly done on-device.