Email, Messaging, & Video Calls > Texting & Messaging

How to Set Up Discord Parental Controls

Once set up, your child's Discord activity is in the Family Center section

By

Jeremy Laukkonen

Published on August 28, 2023

What to Know

On your child’s account: User Settings > Family Center > Connect with Parent > Reveal QR Code.
On your account: Menu icon > user icon > Family Center > Connect with Teen, scan the QR code, tap Send Connection Request.
On your child’s account: My Family, tap the checkmark in the incoming parent requests section, tap Accept Request.

This article explains how to set up Discord parental controls.

How to Set Up Discord Parental Controls

Discord offers limited parental controls in the form of Family Center, an opt-in tool parents can use to keep tabs on the Discord activity of their children. Family Center provides parents with an activity dashboard they can access through their Discord account, along with an email summary of activity sent out each week.

To set up Discord parental controls, you’ll need your own Discord account and access to your child’s Discord account. You can’t set up Family Center if your child doesn’t provide you with access to their account. You can access their account using their phone, the Discord desktop app, or the web app, but you’ll need to have the Discord app on your phone because the process requires you to scan a QR code.

Here’s how to set up Discord parental controls:

Using the child’s Discord account, navigate to User Settings (gear icon).
Select Family Center.
Click Connect with Parent.
Click Reveal QR Code.

Don't allow anyone else to see this QR code.
In the Discord app on your phone, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines).
Tap your user icon in the bottom right corner.
Tap Family Center.
Tap Connect with Teen.
Aim your phone camera at the QR code to scan it.
Tap Send Connection Request.
Tap Close.
On your child’s account, tap My Family.
In the INCOMING PARENT REQUESTS section, tap the check mark.
Tap Accept Request.
Using the Discord app on your phone, tap the menu icon > user icon > Family Center to view your child's Discord activity.

How to Filter Explicit Content From Your Child’s Discord Account

Discord doesn’t allow you to view or monitor your child’s direct messages or voice calls in Discord, but there is a setting that will automatically scan for and remove explicit content. This setting isn’t available through Family Center, so you’ll need access to your child’s Discord account to turn it on, and they can turn it off at any time.

Here’s how to set up safe direct messaging on your child’s Discord:

Using your child’s Discord account, navigate to User Settings (gear icon).

On the mobile app, tap the menu icon > profile icon.
Select Privacy & Safety.
Select Filter all direct messages.

How to Block Strangers From Messaging Your Child

When your child joins a Discord channel, other members can also message your child. You can adjust a setting in the Privacy & Safety section to prevent strangers from messaging your child.

If a stranger obtains your child’s Discord ID, they can still send your child a friend request to initiate direct messages. Your child can deny any such friend request to prevent incoming messages.

Here’s how to prevent strangers from messaging your child:

Using your child’s Discord account, navigate to User Settings (gear icon).

On the mobile app, tap the menu icon > profile icon.
Select Privacy & Safety.
Scroll down to SERVER PRIVACY DEFAULTS and tap the Enable message requests from server members you may not know toggle to turn it off.
Tap the Allow direct messages from server members toggle to turn it off for additional protection.

How Do Discord Parental Controls Work?

Discord parental controls are somewhat limited. Discord’s Family Center allows you to monitor some Discord activity, like how many servers your child has joined, how many direct messages they’ve sent, and how many voice calls they’ve participated in. But you can’t view their messages, place restrictions, block users, or anything else.

Discord doesn’t even allow you to turn Family Center on without access to your child’s Discord account, and there is no way to prevent a child from turning off any privacy protections you put in place on their account. If you want a deeper insight into your child’s activity, you’ll need to use a third-party parental control app.

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