Popular online voice and video (and text) messaging software, Discord, has announced new features and updates rolling out to Family Center. The updates provide more tools for parents and guardians for online safety, while protecting the privacy of teens (Discord has a minimum age rating of 13).
“Guardians shouldn’t have to be a Discord expert to support their teen. That’s why starting today, we’re rolling out over the next week new Family Center features to help guardians stay informed and play a more active role in their teens’ online experiences, while making sure teens continue to have a voice in shaping their digital environment.”
Family Center was first launched in 2023, allowing parents and guardians to see which servers their linked teen users are joining, as well as who’s on their friends list. The Discord setting also features an Activity Feed, and weekly email summaries.
The new features reveal your teen’s total purchases, which on Discord is the Nitro subscription and cosmetics in the Shop (such as animated profile pictures), as well as time spent on video and voice calls. Teen users can also notify their parent or guardian whenever they report another user, with a notifying email.
The Family Center also includes new Guardian-managed settings, including filtering content, limiting direct messages, and other data privacy controls. “We encourage teens to collaborate with their guardians to find the right settings for their experience. ”
Discord is creating these settings with teen privacy in mind, as parents or guardians still cannot see the actual content of messages sent on Discord. “We’re focused on making it easier for you to offer guidance, not surveillance. In Family Center, your teen will always see the same things you see, so there’s full transparency.”
To use Family Center, both guardians and teens should open their Discord app, and navigate to User Settings > Family Center. Follow the steps to link the accounts.
