Risk Score
0 = very fair · 100 = very risky
Summary
Discord's Terms of Service govern a free communication platform (with optional paid features) where users create accounts, join servers, and share text/voice/video content. The document heavily restricts user rights through mandatory arbitration, broad liability disclaimers, Discord's unilateral termination rights, and extensive licensing of user content to Discord. While some protections exist (user content ownership, appeal rights), the arbitration clause and liability limitations significantly favor Discord.
Flagged Clauses
You don't own the Discord app—you're renting a license to use it. Discord can change or revoke it anytime. You can't modify it or share it.
“You grant Discord a 'worldwide, non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, and non-assignable license to download, install, and run that software, solely to access our services.' You cannot copy, modify, distribute, sell, or reverse engineer the software.”
When you post anything on Discord (messages, images, videos, etc.), Discord gets a permanent, royalty-free right to use, copy, modify, and share your content. Discord can sublicense it to third parties. This applies forever, even if you delete your account.
“By using the services, you grant Discord 'a license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, display, and perform your content' that is 'worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable' for 'the limited purpose of providing, developing, and improving our services.'”
Discord can share your messages and content with outside parties if they claim legal obligation or believe it prevents harm. The threshold is somewhat subjective.
“Discord discloses user content to third parties 'when we believe we're required to do so by law or regulation or that doing so is necessary to prevent harm to a person or to protect Discord's rights and property.'”
Discord can permanently delete your account and all associated content without warning, even if you haven't violated any rules. Simply being inactive for 2+ years can trigger deletion. The definition of 'risk' is vague and controlled by Discord.
“Discord reserves 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' including if your account has been 'inactive for more than two years' or if 'continuing to allow your account to be active...creates risk for Discord, other users, or third parties.'”
If you lose access to your recovery email or phone number, Discord may permanently lock you out with no recovery method available.
“If your account is compromised or you lose access to your recovery email/phone, 'we may not be able to restore your access to your account or the servers you've created.'”
You cannot sue Discord in court. All disputes must go to arbitration (a private judge), and you cannot join a class action lawsuit with other users. This prevents large-scale legal action against Discord.
“For U.S. and Canada-based users: 'This section applies to any and all disputes between you and Discord.' Users must attempt informal resolution first by emailing disputes@discordapp.com. The document indicates mandatory arbitration and class action waiver apply, though the full arbitration clause text appears cut off in the provided document.”
Discord makes no promises about the service working correctly or being safe. Even if Discord's negligence causes you harm (data loss, harassment by other users, service outages), you can only recover up to $100 or what you paid in 3 months—whichever is greater. Discord isn't responsible for other users' harmful behavior.
“Discord disclaims 'any implied warranties of MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT' and services are provided 'AS IS.' Discord limits liability 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.' Discord is 'not liable for the conduct or content, whether online or offline, of any user.'”
Discord doesn't guarantee the service will work, stay available, or preserve your data. They won't compensate you if the service goes down or you lose your messages and files.
“Discord states 'we can't guarantee any minimum levels of quality of services (which may also depend on factors beyond our control)' and 'your content may not be retrievable due to such outages or changes. We are not liable for any such outages or service changes.'”
Discord can shut down features or entire services whenever they want for business reasons, with no obligation to notify you in advance or offer compensation.
“Discord states: 'As part of these efforts, we may add or remove features, start offering new services, or stop offering some services entirely (or just in some places or for some users) if they no longer make sense from a business perspective or create risk for Discord, our users, or other third parties. While we try to avoid disruptions, we cannot guarantee that there will not be an outage or change to the services.'”
You must pay Discord's legal fees and defend them against lawsuits arising from your use of the service, even if Discord is partially at fault. This is a broad indemnity that could be very expensive.
“You agree to '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.'”
Discord monitors what games and apps you're running and tracks your activity to personalize your experience. You can adjust some settings, but tracking is built into the service.
“Discord states it 'may identify active games and other applications on your device' and may 'build features that help you...discover or access content or third-party services' and services are 'personalized to each user based on a variety of factors, including their activity, preferences they identified in their Settings, and servers they belong to.'”
If you use Discord on mobile, any data overage charges, SMS fees, or carrier charges are your responsibility, not Discord's.
“Discord states: 'You are responsible for any mobile charges that you may incur for using our services. This includes data charges and charges for messaging, such as SMS, MMS, or other messaging protocols or technologies.'”
You retain ownership of what you create (text, images, videos). However, Discord has a permanent license to use it.
“User owns their content: 'Your content is yours' and Discord's license is 'for the limited purpose of providing, developing, and improving our services.' Users retain intellectual property rights in their content.”
You can delete your account anytime with no penalty. However, this does not necessarily delete your content or stop Discord's use of it per their licensing terms.
“Users can terminate their account freely: 'You're free to stop using Discord's services at any time and for any reason. To terminate this agreement, you may delete your Discord account through the Settings page.'”
If Discord terminates your account or removes your content, you can appeal the decision. EU users have 6 months to appeal.
“Discord provides an appeals process: 'You can appeal any enforcement action we take under these terms or other policies, including terminations, suspensions, or content removals through this form or available in-app options. If you reside in the European Union, your appeal must be submitted within six months.'”
Discord is not responsible for harmful, illegal, or offensive content posted by other users. They won't compensate you for harassment, threats, or other user misconduct.
“Discord disclaims liability for third-party content and services: 'Discord is not responsible for any third-party services' and 'Discord doesn't endorse or verify the accuracy or reliability of content shared by Discord users. We work hard to try to make Discord a safe, positive, and inclusive place, but cannot always prevent you from encountering content that you may find objectionable or offensive. You agree we will not be liable for any harm caused by that content.'”
Missing Protections
- No explicit data retention and deletion policy (deferred to Privacy Policy)
- No guarantee of service availability or uptime SLA
- No limitation on how Discord can use your content beyond vague 'developing and improving services'
- No explicit prohibition on selling aggregated/anonymized user data
- No grace period or warning before account termination (except where required by law)
- No commitment to notify users of material Terms changes in advance
- No explicit opt-out mechanism for data collection/personalization (only vague 'Settings' reference)
- No specific protections for minors beyond age verification and parental consent requirement
- No explicit explanation of what happens to user data/content upon account deletion
- No carve-out for GDPR/CCPA consumer rights before mandatory arbitration clause
Fair Terms
- Users retain ownership of their content (intellectual property remains with creator)
- Non-exclusive license grants users freedom to license content elsewhere
- Free-to-use basic service with optional paid features (no forced monetization)
- Users can delete accounts anytime without penalty
- Formal appeal process for enforcement actions
- Transparent about vague terms like 'risk' through reference to Community Guidelines and Safety Center
- Acknowledges that server owners/admins set their own rules and permissions
- Disables (rather than immediately deletes) accounts upon user request, limiting data processing
- EU users get 6-month appeal window for enforcement actions
- Open source software disclosures where applicable
- Explicit statement that users are responsible for account security and should use 2FA
Document information only — not legal advice.