Discord has declined a previous decision to completely ban NSFW servers from its iPhone and iPad apps.
The company changed it guidelines when accessing NSFW content after experiencing severe backlash from the users. The ban now only applies to servers specifically targeting explicit pornographic content, including any server that is either “organized” around NSFW themes or where most of the server is dedicated to content 18 and older. Individual channels referred to as NSFW are still accessible, but only behind an opt-in age gate.
When asked for a statement on the latest change, Discord responded with the following statement, along with links to supporting articles for users and server owners
Our goal has always been to keep Discord safe, especially for our younger users. Last week, we introduced additional controls to ensure that minors are not exposed to content that is inappropriate for them according to the App Store guidelines. We realize that the community had many questions and we wanted to clarify our position and which servers are or are not affected. These updates are detailed in our support articles for users and server owners. We will continue to work with server owners and our partners, and will notify all server owners to let them know which of their servers have been affected.
Discord will continue to comb through servers and channels to make sure they stick to the new designations. It is also working on a feature that will allow servers to identify themselves as NSFW.
Discord had initially tightened its restrictions on NSFW content to comply with Apple’s Guidelines for iOS Developers, which allow ‘incidental’ NSFW content, as long as it is only displayed after the user specifically opts for it in. But instead of enforcing an age gate where applicable, Discord banned adult iOS users from accessing any NSFW content. The company then tried to shift its focus to Apple due to its restrictive content policies in the App Store.
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That troubled communities of people who rely on Discord to monetize or engage with their followers. Kink artists, furry groups and other affiliate communities felt particularly affected by the NSFW policies. An artist, A. Szabla, explained Rolling stone how the ban would have negatively impacted queer communities that used Discord to organize:
With a ban on NSFW, I often see a lot of queer art, and queer people trying to view or create this work to better connect with their own genders and identity are hit the hardest and lose business and income due to this handover decisions made by technology companies.
It took Discord a week to soften its stance on the iOS ban, perhaps as a vote of confidence to its users. However, there is still rumble around social media that the company’s recent moves are partially motivated to appeal as a vault investment to possible buyers – with Microsoft is the front runner
Discord has no clean past, which may be why there have been so many recent changes to the terms of use for adult communities. Launched in 2015, the chat app has a history of offensive content such as child pornography that can circulate on the platform with little consequence, along with other disturbing content and extremist material. It still does does not provide parental controls but rather refers users to a guide for using the built-in privacy and security features to stay safe.