Discord
Weighted across nine legal categories. Lower is worse.
Executive summary
Discord's Terms of Service establish clear ground rules for a social platform with voice, video, and text features. The terms are generally transparent about age requirements, content rights, and service scope. However, users face significant limitations: mandatory arbitration with class-action waivers for US/Canada residents, unilateral account termination without notice, broad indemnification obligations without caps, and liability limited to $100. While Discord respects user content ownership, enforcement and recourse options are heavily constrained in favor of the company.
Category breakdown
Acceptance of Terms & Scope
Contract formation and service boundaries
Discord clearly defines who is bound (13+ with parental consent), the scope of services (servers, channels, DMs, voice, video), and age requirements. Terms are written in plain language with concrete examples. The agreement incorporates multiple policies by reference, which is standard practice for complex services.
Key findings
- Age requirement clearly stated: 13+ minimum, with parental consent for minors
- Comprehensive scope definition covering all service types (text, voice, video, gaming integration)
- Plain language explanations of server structure and permissions
- Parental responsibilities explicitly defined with resources provided (Family Center, Guardian's Guide)
- Acceptance through continued use rather than required re-click (standard for updates)
Evidence from the document
By accessing our services, you confirm that you're at least 13 years old and meet the minimum age required by the laws in your country.
If you're a parent or legal guardian, and you allow your child (who must meet the minimum age for your country) to use the services, then you and the minor child accept and agree to be bound by these terms
Discord provides services that help you connect with other Discord users and communities. Discord users communicate primarily via servers, which are digital spaces made up of different types of channels.
Recommendations
- Review the linked Community Guidelines and Privacy Policy to understand full obligations before joining
- If you are under 18, have a parent or legal guardian read the terms with you
- Understand that server owners control permissions and rules within their spaces independently
- Be aware that continued use after term updates constitutes acceptance; subscribe to Discord's announcements
User Accounts
Registration, suspension, and termination
Account creation is straightforward with standard requirements (username, password, email, phone, birthday). Users can terminate accounts at any time. However, Discord reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts with or without notice for broad reasons, and there is no guaranteed right to retrieve your data before account deletion. The appeal process exists but lacks sufficient detail about timelines and outcomes.
Key findings
- Account creation requires username, password, email/phone, and birthday verification
- Users can delete accounts anytime through Settings, with no penalties or notice requirement
- Discord can suspend or terminate accounts with or without notice for policy violations, legal compliance, or perceived risk
- Appeals available through a form, but process details and timelines not specified in T&C
- Inactive accounts deleted after 2 years without advance notice
- Account recovery depends on access to email or phone registered to the account
- No explicit data export or backup rights before termination
Evidence from the document
You are responsible for the security of your account, and you agree to notify us immediately if you believe your account has been compromised.
Subject to applicable law, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and/or your access to some or all of our services with or without notice, at our discretion for any reason
Your account has been inactive for more than two years.
Recommendations
- Keep your email and phone number up to date on your account to ensure you can recover it if needed
- Enable two-factor authentication to protect account security
- Regularly back up important conversations, servers, or content you create (Discord does not guarantee data export rights)
- Familiarize yourself with Community Guidelines to understand what triggers suspension or termination
- If your account is suspended, use the appeal form promptly and describe your position clearly
Intellectual Property & UGC
Content ownership and licensing
Discord clearly states that users retain ownership of their content while granting Discord a broad but non-exclusive license for platform operation and improvement. The license grants are clear and use plain language to define rights. However, the license is one-way (users only, no reciprocal protection), there are no attribution requirements, and Discord may delete user content at its sole discretion without compensation.
Key findings
- Users retain copyright ownership of all content they post (text, images, videos, documents)
- Users grant Discord a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license
- License scope explicitly limited to providing, developing, and improving services
- Discord can unilaterally block, remove, or permanently delete user content if it violates policies or creates risk
- No requirement for Discord to provide attribution or credit when using user content
- No compensation or revenue sharing for commercial use of user content by Discord
- One-way structure: Discord does not indemnify users for its own IP infringement
Evidence from the document
Your content is yours, but you give us a license (which is a form of permission) to it when you use Discord.
By using our services, you grant us a license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, display, and perform your content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of providing, developing, and improving our services
We reserve the right to block, remove, and/or permanently delete your content if we determine it is in breach of these terms
Recommendations
- Understand that when you post on Discord, the company gains broad rights to use, reproduce, and display your content
- Be selective about what you share in large public servers (Server Discovery) versus private servers
- Keep copies of valuable content elsewhere; Discord may delete it at its discretion
- Review server permissions before posting; understand who can see and copy your content
- If Discord removes your content, the appeal process is available but Discord has final discretion
Data Privacy
Data collection, usage, and protection
The Terms of Service defer substantive data privacy obligations to a separate Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, which is industry standard. The T&C itself provides minimal privacy-specific terms beyond referencing these external policies. Users should consult the Privacy Policy for details on data collection, use, sharing, retention, and deletion rights. The T&C does acknowledge user responsibility for mobile data charges and references safety features for minors.
Key findings
- Privacy practices detailed in separate Privacy Policy, incorporated by reference into T&C
- Family Center and Guardian's Guide provided for parental oversight of minor accounts
- Disabling an account limits personal data processing but does not terminate the agreement
- Users responsible for mobile data charges incurred through the service
- Safety features and content filtering available, with different defaults for different age groups
- Personalization of experience based on activity, preferences, and server membership (controllable in Settings)
- Third-party service integrations possible; third-party privacy practices not governed by Discord
Evidence from the document
We also have a Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, and other policies that apply to your use of our services and are incorporated into these terms.
Discord is designed to integrate with your device to make it easy to share what you're up to. When Discord is running, we may identify active games and other applications on your device
Disabling your account limits the processing of your personal information as described in our Privacy Policy. Disabling your account does not terminate this agreement.
Recommendations
- Read Discord's Privacy Policy in full before providing personal information, especially if you are under 18
- Review your privacy settings regularly; Discord allows you to control personalization in Settings
- Understand that linking third-party accounts (music services, game accounts) shares data with those third parties
- Use Family Center if you are a parent; it provides visibility into a teen's Discord activity
- Be aware that disabling your account does not delete your data; you must separately request deletion
Payment & Subscriptions
Billing and subscription management
Discord's T&C states that basic functionality is free and refers users to separate Paid Services Terms and Monetization Terms for details about purchases, renewals, and cancellations. This modular approach is common for large platforms but means this T&C alone does not provide full transparency about auto-renewal, cancellation processes, refunds, or trial terms. Users must review the linked terms before making purchases.
Key findings
- Basic Discord services are provided free of charge to all users
- Additional paid features and products available for purchase
- Auto-renewal terms, cancellation rights, and refund policies governed by separate Paid Services Terms
- Monetization Terms apply to any sales or revenue generation through Discord
- Users responsible for all mobile data charges (SMS, MMS, data usage)
- Payment processing governed by separate terms not detailed in this document
- Developer payments and creator monetization subject to additional Monetization Terms
Evidence from the document
We won't charge you a fee to use the basic functionality of our services, but you may be able to pay for additional features and products.
Discord's Paid Services Terms also apply to any purchase you make using Discord's supported purchase flows
You are responsible for any mobile charges that you may incur for using our services.
Recommendations
- Before any purchase, review Discord's Paid Services Terms for details on billing, auto-renewal, and cancellation
- Understand your mobile plan charges; Discord cannot control what your carrier charges for data
- If you enable paid features, set payment reminders to avoid unexpected renewal charges
- Review cancel/refund policies before committing to ongoing subscriptions
- For creators monetizing content, review Monetization Terms for payout rates and conditions
Limitation of Liability
Risk allocation and legal protection
Discord includes standard but aggressive liability disclaimers. Services are provided 'AS IS' with no warranty of quality, accuracy, or fitness for purpose. Discord limits its liability to the greater of either (A) the amount you paid in the 3 months before claiming or (B) $100 USD. All consequential and indirect damages are excluded. While Discord acknowledges that some jurisdictions prohibit such limitations, the disclaimers are broad and favor the company significantly.
Key findings
- Services provided AS IS without any express or implied warranties
- Disclaims warranties of merchantability, fitness for particular purpose, quiet enjoyment, and non-infringement
- Liability capped at greater of: (A) fees paid in previous 3 months or (B) $100 USD
- No liability for incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages
- No liability for lost profits, lost data, business interruption, or cost of substitute services
- No liability for user-generated content or third-party service conduct
- Provision for jurisdictions where limitations are illegal; such limitations do not apply there
- Information provided on services is at user's own risk
Evidence from the document
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DISCORD, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ABOUT THE SERVICES. THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED 'AS IS.'
DISCORD LIMITS OUR LIABILITY TO YOU TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU HAVE PAID US IN THE THREE MONTHS BEFORE YOU FIRST ASSERT A CLAIM OR (B) $100 USD
WE DON'T EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU WHERE IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO DO SO.
Recommendations
- Do not rely on Discord for critical functions or store irreplaceable data exclusively on the platform
- Understand that Discord disclaims quality guarantees; service interruptions, bugs, and outages may occur
- If you suffer financial harm due to Discord's service failure, your recovery is limited to $100 or recent payments
- Keep backups of important conversations and files outside Discord
- For high-value transactions, use alternative platforms with higher liability limits
- If you are in the EU, UK, Australia, or similar jurisdictions, additional consumer protections may apply despite these disclaimers
Indemnification
Legal responsibility allocation
Discord requires users to indemnify the company and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, and costs (including attorney fees) related to the user's access/use of services, content, T&C violations, or negligence/willful misconduct. This is a one-way obligation (only users indemnify Discord, not vice versa), with no cap and no explicit carve-out for Discord's own negligence. The trigger language is broad and potentially encompasses claims where the user bears minimal fault.
Key findings
- Users must indemnify Discord for claims arising from: access/use of services, user's content, T&C violations, or user negligence/willful misconduct
- One-way obligation: Discord does not indemnify users for Discord's failures or negligence
- Covers all claims, liabilities, damages, costs including reasonable legal and accounting fees
- No monetary cap on indemnification obligation
- Indemnification survives account termination indefinitely
- Triggered by 'access to or use of our services' (broad) and 'your violation of these terms' (narrower)
- No exclusion for claims where Discord's own negligence is primary cause
- Asymmetrical: Discord limits its liability to $100 while demanding unlimited indemnity from users
Evidence from the document
You will indemnify and hold Discord and its officers, directors, employees and agents harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, and costs (including reasonable legal and accounting fees) related to (a) your access to or use of our services or third-party services, (b) your content, (c) your violation of these terms, or (d) your negligence or willful misconduct.
Recommendations
- Understand that by using Discord, you agree to pay Discord's legal costs if someone sues Discord based on your use
- Be particularly cautious about content you create and share; it is a primary trigger for indemnification
- If you violate Discord's Community Guidelines, you may face both account termination and indemnification liability
- For business or high-risk uses, consider purchasing personal liability insurance to cover indemnification exposure
- Note that this indemnity obligation survives even after you delete your account
Modification of Terms
How agreements can be changed
Discord reserves the right to unilaterally modify the terms. For material changes affecting your use or legal rights, Discord promises 'reasonable advance notice,' but 'reasonableness' is undefined and Discord determines what is 'material.' Continued use after notice constitutes acceptance. For arbitration clause changes specifically, Discord provides 30 days' notice. This approach gives Discord broad flexibility while users have limited options (stop using the service or accept the change).
Key findings
- Discord reserves unilateral right to update terms at any time
- Material changes trigger 'reasonable advance notice' (not defined; implementation unclear)
- Discord alone determines what constitutes a 'material' change
- Continued use after notice = acceptance of new terms (no affirmative re-consent required)
- Arbitration clause changes specifically require 30 days' notice
- No archived version history or public changelog mentioned
- No pro-rated refunds or exit option for rejected changes
- Changes apply to future disputes and may apply to unfiled claims
Evidence from the document
We may decide to update these terms: (1) to reflect changes to our services or our business, (2) for legal or regulatory reasons, (3) to prevent abuse on or of our services, or (4) to better protect or serve users of our services. If these changes materially affect your Discord use or your legal rights, we'll give you reasonable advance notice
If you continue to use our services after the changes have taken effect, it means that you agree to the changes. If you don't agree, you must stop using our services.
Recommendations
- Enable notifications or subscriptions to Discord's announcements to catch term updates
- When an update notice arrives, review the changes carefully, especially in dispute resolution, privacy, and billing sections
- Keep screenshots or archives of terms you agree to, especially for paid services
- If you disagree with significant changes, stop using the service before the effective date rather than accepting by continued use
- For arbitration clause changes, use the 30-day opt-out window if you wish to preserve your court access
Governing Law & Disputes
Jurisdiction and conflict resolution
This is the most restrictive category for consumer protection. Discord requires US and Canadian users to resolve all disputes through mandatory binding arbitration after a 60-day informal resolution attempt fails. Users waive their right to jury trial and class action. Arbitration is the sole forum except for small claims and IP-related disputes. The arbitration rules include batching provisions that can delay individual claims significantly. Users must opt out within 30 days of account creation to avoid arbitration. This framework heavily favors Discord and is typical of large tech platforms but severely limits consumer access to justice.
Key findings
- Mandatory binding arbitration for all disputes (US/Canada residents)
- 60-day informal resolution requirement before arbitration (prerequisite)
- Class action waiver: disputes only in individual capacity
- Jury trial waiver: applies to arbitration and any court proceedings
- Governing law: California (without regard to conflicts)
- Exclusive venue for non-arbitrable disputes: New Castle County, Delaware
- 1-year statute of limitations: all claims barred after 1 year from accrual
- Arbitration administered by NAM (most states) or ADR Services (California, backup)
- Arbitration batching: mass filings queued in batches of 100, delaying individual resolution
- 30-day opt-out window: can decline arbitration by emailing arbitration-opt-out@discord.com within 30 days
- Exceptions: small claims court, IP/copyright disputes, some equitable relief preserved
- EU residents: subject to Amsterdam court or home-country court (different rule)
- Arbitration costs: Discord pays if it initiates; user pays arbitrator fees if user initiates (unless law prohibits)
Evidence from the document
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE OR PARTICIPATE IN A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND LIMITING YOUR RIGHTS TO RESOLVE YOUR DISPUTE AS PART OF A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.
YOU AND DISCORD AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY.
You can decline this Agreement to Arbitrate...by emailing an opt-out notice to arbitration-opt-out@discord.com within 30 days of September 29, 2025 or when you first register your Discord account, whichever is later
Recommendations
- If you are a US or Canadian resident, opt out of the arbitration clause within 30 days of creating your account if you wish to preserve your right to sue in court
- Opt-out: email arbitration-opt-out@discord.com with your name and account info within the 30-day window
- Understand that without opting out, your only remedy for disputes is individual arbitration, not court or class action
- Note that a 1-year limitation period is shorter than typical; file claims promptly
- Small claims court is preserved as an exception; use it for small-dollar disputes
- For intellectual property, copyright, or trademark claims, those exceptions to arbitration still apply
- If you are in the EU, UK, Australia, or similar jurisdictions, mandatory arbitration is likely unenforceable; consult local law
Ex-TerCo provides automated analysis of legal documents for informational purposes. This is not legal advice. Terms can change at any time.