Discord has ended its ‘limited test’ of Persona in the UK, distancing itself from the age verification provider after user backlash. According to Savannah Badalich, Discord’s head of product policy, the test of Persona concluded where age assurance had been launched. Users had criticized Discord on social media for its partnership with Persona and plans for global age verification, questioning the handling of face scans and ID uploads. Discord’s archived support page mentioned an experiment using Persona, but references to it were removed around February 15th. Persona CEO Rick Song stated that collected data was deleted post-verification.
Privacy concerns were raised when three security researchers reported exposed code related to facial recognition and financial reporting. Persona CEO Rick Song affirmed that the company lacks government contracts and that the exposed code linked to an OpenAI chatbot was removed. Discord uses k-ID for age verification, supporting ID scans through Veratad, and claims local processing of facial age estimation without uploading video selfies, though such assurances aren’t given for identity documents.
Badalich mentioned ongoing evaluations of vendor partners to enhance age assurance and user options, prioritizing privacy. Discord notes that most users won’t need age verification due to its machine learning model assessing account info. Users with undefined adult status face a ‘teen’ experience by default, with access to some features contingent on age verification via face scan or photo ID.