Discord, the gamer-centric chat app that has become more popular among online fringe communities, has tightened restrictions on NSFW adult content. Discord now requires age gates for entire servers instead of limiting them to individual channels. And because there is already an Apple policy, the iOS users of the app will no longer be able to access NSFW servers.
Apples Guidelines for iOS Developers allow “incidental” NSFW content if it is hidden by default and only displayed when an option is checked from an external website. Rather than sacrificing that ability to comply with Apple’s rules, Discord decided to completely block access to those NSFW communities for anyone using the iOS app. iPhone and iPad users can still access the NSFW Discord communities through mobile Safari and other browsers, but it’s hardly a replacement for the full mobile app.
Discord will automatically apply the NSFW label to all servers that attempt it new policyServers on Discord are considered NSFW if they contain adult content, including avatars, server banners, and invitation splash. Individual channels within a server can still be referred to as NSFW without applying the label to the entire server, but only if the rest of the server is not centered around NSFW themes.
As expected, there has been a lot of backlash from those who rely on Discord for monetization. A quick look at social media shows a variety of self-proclaimed kink artists worried about their future in the chat app. Even Discord’s Reddit users scrutinize the new policy changes and wonder if this is just a lazy attempt by Discord to understand Apple’s regressive content policy. Some have even insinuated that the rumors of Microsoft takeover are fueling the movement.
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Shall they, gulp, forced to switch to Android? Could be. This new policy could make it more difficult for creatives with sexual and pornographic content to communicate with their followers if those fans are primarily iOS users. But for Discord, it keeps the app available on the App Store, despite what some call squeamish restrictions.
When reached for a statement, a Discord spokesman said:
We are committed to providing a safer experience for everyone on Discord. We always work hard to create robust controls to ensure that minors are not exposed to content that is not suitable for them. Our Community Guidelines require adult content to be placed after an age bracket of 18 years and older. As part of this, we now require servers that are organized around NSFW content or whose content is predominantly 18+ to be classified as NSFW at the community level.
If you encounter the roadblock on iOS, you will see a warning that NSFW servers have been blocked on the iOS platform. However, it is still unclear how strict the policy is. Gizmodo colleague and willing guinea pig Joanna Nelius tried to access about five public NSFW servers using an iPhone 12 updated to iOS 14.4.2. She stepped on every server every time, with only a few of the Discord communities asking for age verification and no vetting process after that. Discord said it will be rolling out the new changes in the coming days and it will work with server owners to make sure they are aware of and understand the new requirements.
Older millennials may remember when Apple has banned the Tumblr app and forced the platform to remove all pornographic images before allowing it back into the App Store. Discord probably won’t suffer the same fate because of this workaround. But server blocking is a concern given the number of creatives who have come to rely on Discord to connect with their communities.
It’It is also disturbing that Apple is the company that imposes content restrictions like this on app developers who want to be admitted to the App Store without any other way of loading apps on an iOS device. There was cheers at the party banned Parler from the App Store after that, that platform played a role in the uprising in the US Capitol earlier this year. But as we see recent backlash against Apple, it is worth giving so much power to a technology company in the first place.