Discord falsely banning user accounts for being underage, but there are some ways to avoid it

Discord has come under fire from users for allegedly banning accounts based on false ‘underage’ accusations.

Numerous Discord users have reported on Reddit and Twitter (X) that they are losing their accounts unfairly due to alleged violations of age guidelines, even if they are 13 years of age or older.

Discord has some really great things with their platform. That is until you get falsely reported for being under the age of 13. Then an automated system goes “Oh cool, this dude is under 13 disable it.” Then you have to make a cool little appeal that doesn’t really help, because they don’t respond. (Source)

Taking the word of false reports and banning accounts without any form of confirmation is absolutely ludicrous. I run a server and now for the time being, I have no means of being able to manage it until this is eleviated. I’m actively paying for a subscription that I, at best, will not be able to use for a week and a half. (Source)

Many reports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) surfaced on social media regarding the issue, with users sharing their frustration after unfairly losing their accounts.

So far, there’s no official word on why Discord has been falsely banning accounts based on random accusations. However, users have come up with their own speculations.

Upon examining a case that a Reddit user shared, we now understand that making false statements or jokes about one’s age on the servers can result in the banning of an account.

Of course, this is just speculation, but it does make sense. So tread lightly with jokes about your age.

The platform also enforces these strict age guidelines to adhere to COPPA laws, which stipulate that individuals under 13 years old are ineligible to use the platform.

If your account is falsely disabled, you can use these steps to retrieve it:

Check your email: There is a high chance that a message explaining why the account was blocked was sent to your provided email ID. Check it out and act accordingly.

Support ticket: Open a support ticket under the Appeals and Age Update Requests category, explain your situation, and wait for help to arrive.

Clyde/bot reply: If you get a reply from Discord’s official bot Clyde, reply and kindly ask for a human representative.

What you shouldn’t do is create multiple tickets. Doing so may just lengthen the process of getting your account back.

In the end, retrieving a falsely disabled account can be quite the task. Keeping your patience during it is highly advised.

So far, there haven’t been any official statements from Discord regarding the issue.

We’ll keep monitoring this issue and update you as and when something noteworthy comes up.

Featured image source: Official Discord brand website

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.