Discord just put Apple customers at the kids’ table.
The group chat service quietly announced Tuesday that, going forward, it will block iOS users — including those 18 and older — from accessing NSFW servers on the iOS Discord app. Discord servers typically consist of themed voice or text channels, and the company calls them “the spaces on Discord.”
According to a Discord spokesperson, the new policy, which will go into effect over the next several days, is an effort to “to comply with Apple’s policies[.]”
This block does not apply to Discord users on Android devices, and does not apply to those accessing Discord from its website.
Matthew Bischoff, a former Tumblr employee, criticized Discord’s policy change on Twitter.
“When we dealt with this at Tumblr, it became my full time jobs for weeks to find incredibly complex ways to appease Apple’s censors,” he wrote. “This happened every time they found a sexy blog they didn’t like.”
When we dealt with this at Tumblr, it became my full time jobs for weeks to find incredibly complex ways to appease Apple’s censors. This happened every time they found a sexy blog they didn’t like. It’s absurd.
— Matthew Bischoff (@mb) April 13, 2021
Tumblr infamously banned NSFW content in 2018, a move that was widely criticized at the time.
Discord, notably, is painting with a broad brush when it comes to defining what servers are and are not NSFW — a policy that will undoubtedly negatively affect adult content creators who rely on the site.
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“Our Community Guidelines require that all adult content posted to Discord be kept behind an NSFW gate,” reads Discord’s Tuesday announcement in part. “Servers must be classified as NSFW if the community is organized around NSFW themes or if the majority of the server’s content is 18+. Discord will mark servers meeting these criteria as NSFW if they are not appropriately designated.”
Discord is reportedly exploring a sale to Microsoft for more than $10 billion.