Is Discord included in the UK social media ban for under-16s?

Back in June, the UK government announced that it would ban those under 16 years old from accessing social media platforms.

While details are yet to be officially confirmed, the government has stated that under-16s won’t be able to use Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X. If you’re surprised to see YouTube included there, then visit our guide which explains all you need to know about the video-sharing platform’s social media ban. 

However, one platform that’s missing from the government’s initial round-up is Discord. At the time of writing, we don’t know whether the government will eventually add Discord to the ban list or not. 

In the meantime, we explain everything you need to know about Discord including whether it is classed as a social media, what safety measures it takes for younger users and more.

Otherwise, visit our UK social media ban explainer for more information on the upcoming rule-change for under-16s.

What is Discord?

We’ll start with a refresher on what Discord actually is. Discord is designed for gamers and allows its users to communicate with others online, using either video or voice calls and instant messaging.  

At the heart of Discord are “servers” which are a collection of chat rooms and voice channels that can be accessed either through private invite links or simply by searching. Each server can hold up to a massive 25 million users at once, though you can also create smaller and private servers for chatting with friends.

For more information, our dedicated what is Discord explainer goes into more detail on the platform.

Discord is described as being a “communications platform” that enables users to build connections around the “joy of playing games through voice, video and text features”. 

So, although it does enable communication and sharing with friends, it isn’t technically classified as social media.

At the time of writing, Discord is not included in the list of platforms that will be banned by the UK governments for under-16s. However, the government hasn’t confirmed whether this list is exhaustive or not, so there’s potential for more platforms to be added.

The government has also disclaimed that it doesn’t intend for “messaging services like Whatsapp and Signal” to be included in the ban. Considering Discord is classed as a communications platform, this could suggest that the government may not see it as a social media platform.

Plus, the UK government has said that it plans to use the “same model for a social media ban as Australia”, who doesn’t include Discord in its own ban. However, many critics have since called for Australia to include Discord in its ban, as the platform allows for video chatting and live streaming. 

What is Discord’s minimum age, and does it change under the ban?

The minimum age you need to be to join Discord is 13 years old, however this varies depending on where you are in the world. For example, while UK residents can join when they’re 13, some European countries like Spain and Italy require users to be 14 years old. In fact, countries including Ireland, Germany and Poland have a minimum age requirement of 16 years old. 

Discord hasn’t disclosed whether it plans to change the UK’s minimum age in-line with the upcoming social media ban. That means for now, we can assume its minimum age will remain at 13 years old.

What other apps are and aren’t included in the ban?

So far, the apps included in the ban are: X, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Messaging apps are “not intended” to be included in the ban, with the government explicitly referencing Whatsapp and Signal. At the time of writing, those are all the apps that we know about.

When does the ban come into effect?

The UK’s social media ban for under-16s should be implemented in Spring 2027, after the first set of regulations are laid out by the end of 2026.