Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Windows Central

Technology

Cale Hunt

"Discord alternatives" searches jump 10,000% overnight as the gaming platform introduces global age verification — Is a total collapse imminent?

Distracted gamer looking at Stoat.

Update February 11, 2026: Discord has provided an update via X with more information about its new "Teen-by-Default" stance. All users will not be required to submit age verification, as Discord's monitoring system can already determine "with high confidence" who is an adult. This post received a Community Note reminding users of the 2025 data breach containing thousands of government IDs.

Discord has long been one of the largest and most popular platforms for keeping in contact with your gaming group, but its popularity was dealt a massive blow on February 9 when the company announced it would be rolling out age verification measures globally and for all users.

Sign up to read this article

Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here

Top stories on inkl right now

Iran Vows Tighter Starlink Crackdown: cyber officials deploy jammers and GPS spoofing; warn satellite internet threatens control

Iran Vows Tighter Starlink Crackdown: cyber officials deploy jammers and GPS spoofing; warn satellite internet threatens control

Iranian authorities have vowed to step up efforts to block Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service and impose further restrictions on global internet access as the war with the United States and Israel continues.

The Times of India

US teen arrested for mass shooting plot to kill Hindus inside temple; his manifesto expressing hatred towards Indians is being examined

US teen arrested for mass shooting plot to kill Hindus inside temple; his manifesto expressing hatred towards Indians is being examined

A 19-year-old man from Palatine, Illinois, has been arrested over an alleged mass shooting plot that may have targeted a Hindu temple in Aurora. Police said investigators examined electronic communications and a manifesto containing white supremacist views and hatred towards Indians.

The Economic Times

Big, Bad Dodgers Pushed to the Brink by a Journeyman and a Rookie

Big, Bad Dodgers Pushed to the Brink by a Journeyman and a Rookie

Jake Bauers and Robert Gasser were the unlikely heroes for the Brewers in Game 3, and they have the star-studded Dodgers one loss from elimination.

Sports Illustrated

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is returning to federal court to face torture allegations

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is returning to federal court to face torture allegations

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returns Thursday to a New York courtroom to answer a rewritten drug trafficking indictment

The Independent UK

One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites

Already a member? Sign in here

Thousands protest across Colombia against new right-wing president

Thousands protest across Colombia against new right-wing president

Thousands of Colombians protested peacefully across the country on Wednesday against right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella, in the opposition’s first major demonstrations since he took office in August. Former leftist president Gustavo Petro led a rally in Bogota joined by trade unionists, Indigenous groups, students and feminist activists.

Huntsville Measles Case Puts Bailey Cove Subway and Publix Visitors on Symptom Watch Through Late October

Huntsville Measles Case Puts Bailey Cove Subway and Publix Visitors on Symptom Watch Through Late October

A traveler with measles visited a Huntsville Subway and Publix while contagious. See the exposure times, symptoms, and when to call a doctor.

Related Stories

Top stories on inkl right now

Iran Vows Tighter Starlink Crackdown: cyber officials deploy jammers and GPS spoofing; warn satellite internet threatens control

Iran Vows Tighter Starlink Crackdown: cyber officials deploy jammers and GPS spoofing; warn satellite internet threatens control

Iranian authorities have vowed to step up efforts to block Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service and impose further restrictions on global internet access as the war with the United States and Israel continues.

The Times of India

US teen arrested for mass shooting plot to kill Hindus inside temple; his manifesto expressing hatred towards Indians is being examined

US teen arrested for mass shooting plot to kill Hindus inside temple; his manifesto expressing hatred towards Indians is being examined

A 19-year-old man from Palatine, Illinois, has been arrested over an alleged mass shooting plot that may have targeted a Hindu temple in Aurora. Police said investigators examined electronic communications and a manifesto containing white supremacist views and hatred towards Indians.

The Economic Times

Big, Bad Dodgers Pushed to the Brink by a Journeyman and a Rookie

Big, Bad Dodgers Pushed to the Brink by a Journeyman and a Rookie

Jake Bauers and Robert Gasser were the unlikely heroes for the Brewers in Game 3, and they have the star-studded Dodgers one loss from elimination.

Sports Illustrated

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is returning to federal court to face torture allegations

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is returning to federal court to face torture allegations

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returns Thursday to a New York courtroom to answer a rewritten drug trafficking indictment

The Independent UK

One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites

Already a member? Sign in here

Thousands protest across Colombia against new right-wing president

Thousands protest across Colombia against new right-wing president

Thousands of Colombians protested peacefully across the country on Wednesday against right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella, in the opposition’s first major demonstrations since he took office in August. Former leftist president Gustavo Petro led a rally in Bogota joined by trade unionists, Indigenous groups, students and feminist activists.

Huntsville Measles Case Puts Bailey Cove Subway and Publix Visitors on Symptom Watch Through Late October

Huntsville Measles Case Puts Bailey Cove Subway and Publix Visitors on Symptom Watch Through Late October

A traveler with measles visited a Huntsville Subway and Publix while contagious. See the exposure times, symptoms, and when to call a doctor.

Our Picks

Tipsy Worms Got Snagged in a Pillar Maze While Sober Ones Wriggled Through Faster in a Chemistry Experiment

Physicists soaked worms in about a beer's worth of alcohol and found tipsy worms lagged sober ones through a maze, a test of polymer separation.

Medical Cannabis Showed Little to No Sleep Benefit Across Nine Insomnia Trials, but the Evidence Remains Weak

A Cochrane review of nine trials found that medical cannabis did little to improve insomnia, but the evidence is of low certainty. What sleepers should know.

A TikToker found mini pumpkin pies at Trader Joe’s after buying one at Starbucks that morning, and asks ‘Why is it the same pie?’

One TikTok shopper spotted a near twin of her Starbucks pie

We Got This Covered

50 Cent Tells Kimmel Diddy Watched His Netflix Doc on iPad in Prison, Jokes 'This Is Not Jail, This Is a Club'

50 Cent joked on Jimmy Kimmel about reports that Diddy watched his Netflix documentary on a modified tablet in prison.

International Business Times UK

‘It’s really weird you said skinwalker,’ a New York TikToker says she told her boyfriend after hearing heavy steps near a Virginia cabin

A viral dance video came moments before a 1 AM escape from the woods

We Got This Covered

Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature

Along with being easier when signing for NASCAR fans, it was also 'legally a little touchy' with Teresa Earnhardt for a while

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.

Download on the AppStore

Get it on Google Play