New trick to bypass Discord age verfication surfaces as ongoing bug restricts adults even after verification

There’s a bug on Discord recently, where it puts some users in the wrong age group. This triggers teen restrictions even for adults, and counterintuitively pushes adults into teen spaces. Multiple users report that the platform flags their accounts incorrectly, even after completing the new age verification checks.

Discord’s new age verification system assigns an age group using facial age estimation or ID verification. It applies teen limits when it cannot confirm that the user is an adult. This limits access to age-restricted servers and other sensitive content until verification is complete.

If you’re placed with the wrong age group even after completing verification, you could wait for the manual review process, and you’ll have to raise an appeal. However, there’s also a workaround for this. Editing your date of birth manually inside the account will remove the incorrect age group, and in some cases, it actually works.

If you manually set your DOB, it’ll move your account to a different age bracket, and sometimes, it bypasses the strict face scan/ ID verification check for some users. If you don’t get a request for entering your DOB, you can assume that Discord has already grouped your account in the 18+ category.

While users remain apprehensive, Discord states that it only uses the image of the face for age estimation, and not for storing the video selfie. The ID data apparently gets deleted after processing.

Several people are looking up alternatives to Discord, and there are ongoing trust issues with Persona as well. People allege that Discord is intentionally making several people upload their IDs, and making the automatic age verification system fail on purpose.

Meanwhile, Discord claims it’s a bug and that they’re working on resolving the issue.

The new age verification rules may not entirely be Discord’s fault. Several media platforms are being hit with age restriction mandates and fines from places such as the UK, and Discord might be merely complying with rules to continue operating there. However, rolling it out in places where it’s not mandatory has been met with scrutiny.

If you’ve been flagged incorrectly and the workaround of setting your DOB manually doesn’t work, you can apply for an appeal through the official lockout recovery process. Discord allows manual review in the case that the automatic verification fails.

That said, here are other ways teens have been outsmarting AI age verification checks on various platforms.

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