Last reviewed 2026-07-18
Discord
Servers, DMs, and voice — lock who can reach your child
Discord combines chat, voice, video, and file sharing. Predators use public servers, friend requests, and DMs. Minors often join communities for games or fandoms where age is hard to verify. Risk spikes when chats move to private servers or off-platform.
Settings to change now
- 1
Enable Family Center (parent view)
Discord Family Center lets a parent link to a teen account and see which servers they join and who they DM — without reading message content. Set this up before arguing about privacy; it is a compromise layer.
Source: Discord — Family Center → - 2
Turn off DMs from server members
User Settings → Privacy & Safety → Server Privacy Defaults: disable 'Allow direct messages from server members.' Repeat per server under the server privacy gear. This blocks strangers who share a server from sliding into DMs.
Source: Discord — Privacy settings → - 3
Friend requests: only friends of friends (or off)
User Settings → Friend Requests: restrict who can send requests. For younger teens, allow only friends of friends — or nobody except people they already know offline.
Source: Discord Safety Center → - 4
Filter explicit media: keep filter on
Privacy & Safety → Explicit Media Content Filter → set to filter all DMs (or at least from non-friends). This is not perfect; still review.
Source: Discord — Safety settings → - 5
Review connected apps and phone number
Authorized Apps and phone/email recovery should be controlled by the parent. Predators sometimes social-engineer account takeovers after getting a phone number from chat.
Source: Discord — Account security →
Red flags — act if you see these
- 1
Private server or 'VC only' isolation
Someone pulls your child into a private server or always wants voice chat alone — classic grooming isolation.
Source: NCMEC — Online enticement → - 2
Nitro gifts or Robux-for-secrets trades
Gifts in exchange for photos, personal info, or keeping secrets from parents.
Source: Thorn — Grooming → - 3
Age-play or 'are you alone' questions
Sexual framing, body questions, or checking if parents are nearby.
Source: CyberTipline → - 4
File / photo requests in DMs
Unsolicited images or requests to send photos. Do not open unknown files; preserve evidence and report.
Source: Discord — Reporting →
How to report on-platform
- 1
Report the user and message in-app
Right-click message or user → Report. Choose the correct category. Do not delete evidence until you have screenshots and CyberTipline is filed if sexual.
Source: Discord — How to report → - 2
Block and leave unsafe servers
Block the user. Leave servers that normalize sexual chat with minors. Document server names and user IDs.
Source: Discord Safety Center → - 3
CyberTipline for sexual exploitation
If sexual images of a minor were requested, shared, or threatened — file at report.cybertip.org immediately.
Source: NCMEC CyberTipline →
Escalate to CyberTipline when
- Sexual images of a minor are requested, sent, or threatened (sextortion)
- An adult arranges or requests an in-person meeting
- Someone claims to know your child's school, address, or schedule
- You find CSAM or sexual content involving minors in any channel
Official sources