Heads up, Discord users: There's currently no way to disable double tap reactions or status change notifications

If you have been scrolling through Discord on your phone recently, you might have noticed the app feels a little more aggressive than usual. It is not just you. In a push to drive more engagement, the platform has rolled out a few changes that are causing some serious headaches for long-time users.

Specifically, we are looking at the mobile “double tap to react” feature and a new wave of notifications broadcasting when friends change their status or come online. The bad news is that right now, you cannot fully opt out of either one.

The first issue is the double-tap gesture, which seems to be catching everyone off guard. If you are reading through old message history — maybe checking a specific date or looking for an old link — a simple slip of the thumb now instantly slaps a reaction on a message.

Naturally, users flocked to Reddit to ask how to turn it off. The answer came from a Discord staff member who confirmed that there is currently no toggle to disable double-tap reactions. While they mentioned plans to introduce a disable option “relatively soon,” you are stuck with it for the time being. The only advice available right now is to be extremely careful where you put your fingers.

But if accidental reactions were not enough to spike your anxiety, the new status notifications might finish the job. Discord has started sending push alerts to let you know when friends come online or change their status. For a platform that many people use specifically because it allows for a degree of passive, low-pressure socializing, this feels like a return to the days of MSN Messenger nudges.

The frustration here is twofold. First, it is spammy. If you have a lot of friends, your phone is going to buzz constantly. Second, and more importantly, it is a privacy concern. Users quickly realized that while you can stop receiving these notifications for yourself, you cannot stop Discord from broadcasting your activity to others.

A staff member clarified on Reddit that “broadcasting isn’t configurable at the moment.” That means if you go online, your friends might get a ping about it, and there is no setting you can flip to prevent that specific alert from going out.

The only real workaround for the privacy-conscious is to live in “Invisible” mode, which defeats the purpose of having an online status in the first place. It is a frustrating spot for users who want to be available but do not want their arrival announced with a trumpet blast.

Until Discord patches in the granular controls that usually define the app, you might want to keep your status set to gray and watch your thumbs when you scroll.