Discord Terms of Service: Five Clauses Worth Reading Before You Join a Server
This page is general information, not legal advice.
Discord's Terms of Service are a contract with Discord Inc., its subsidiaries and its related companies. They also bring in the Privacy Policy, the Community Guidelines and other policies. This page reviews the version effective September 29, 2025 (last updated August 29, 2025). Five of its clauses shift cost or risk onto you. For each one, you get the exact wording, why it matters and what to ask for instead. Individual users can rarely negotiate standard terms, so treat this as a checklist.
1. The license over your content
Your content is yours, but you give us a license (which is a form of permission) to it when you use Discord. ... But by using our services, you grant us a license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, display, and perform your content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of providing, developing, and improving our services as permitted by applicable laws. This license is worldwide, non-exclusive (which means you can still license your content to others), royalty-free (which means there are no fees for this license), sublicensable, and transferable.
Source: https://discord.com/terms, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Why it works against you
You keep ownership, but the license covers everything you upload, post, share or stream. Discord can sublicense and transfer it, and "developing, and improving our services" is a broad purpose. The terms don't say when the license ends. Discord also says "We take no responsibility for any of your content, and we are not responsible for others’ use of your content." Any feedback you send gives Discord a "perpetual, irrevocable" license, "without any restrictions, attribution, or compensation to you." Under the Survival section, Discord keeps its rights to "retain and display certain data" after the agreement ends. See perpetual content licenses explained.
What to ask for instead
Sample wording to propose (illustrative): "The license ends when the user deletes the content or their account, except for copies other users have already shared. The license may only be sublicensed to service providers that help operate the services."
2. Suspension or termination "for any reason"
Subject to applicable law, we reserve 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, or for the following reasons: ... Your account has been inactive for more than two years. ... However, we will give you advance notice if reasonable to do so or required by applicable law.
Source: https://discord.com/terms, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Why it works against you
The listed reasons are only examples. "For any reason" means Discord doesn't need one. Another listed reason applies when keeping your account or content up "creates risk for Discord, other users, or third parties," and that phrase isn't defined. Discord promises advance notice only "if reasonable to do so" or when the law requires it. You can appeal any enforcement action, but Discord reviews its own decision, and EU residents must appeal within six months. If you run a community, losing your account can cut you off from servers you built. An account that sits unused for two years can also be closed.
What to ask for instead
Sample wording to propose (illustrative): "Except where required by law or for urgent safety reasons, we will give written notice stating the reason and a reasonable period to respond before terminating an account, and allow the user to download their data. Inactive accounts will receive an email warning before closure."
3. Outages, lost content and no liability
We’re actively developing new features and products to improve Discord. 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) ... While we try to avoid disruptions, we cannot guarantee that there will not be an outage or change to the services, and your content may not be retrievable due to such outages or changes. We are not liable for any such outages or service changes.
Source: https://discord.com/terms, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Why it works against you
Discord can remove a feature, and if your content goes with it, the loss is yours. The limitation of liability section also excludes damages for "LOSS OF DATA". If you use Discord to keep files, community history or project work, keep your own copies. Your identity on the platform isn't secure either: Discord reserves the right "to delete, change, or reclaim your username, URL, or other identifier," and you can't sell or transfer your account or vanity URL without its written approval.
What to ask for instead
Sample wording to propose (illustrative): "We will give reasonable advance notice before removing a feature that stores user content, and provide a way to export that content first."
4. Arbitration, unless you opt out within 30 days
You can decline this Agreement to Arbitrate–and no other provision of these terms–by emailing an opt-out notice to arbitration-opt-out@discord.com within 30 days of September 29, 2025 or when you first register your Discord account, whichever is later; otherwise, you shall be bound to arbitrate Disputes in accordance with the terms of these paragraphs.
Source: https://discord.com/terms, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Why it works against you
For U.S. and Canadian users, disputes go to binding arbitration, with a jury trial waiver and a class action waiver. Mass filings are handled "in batches of 100 demands per batch". Discord itself warns that "the costs of arbitration could exceed the costs of litigation and the right to discovery may be more limited in arbitration than in court." Before filing anything, you must send a Written Notice and be available personally for a call, and Discord has 60 days to resolve the issue. Disputes that can't be arbitrated go to courts in New Castle County, Delaware, under U.S. and California law. Claims must be brought within one year, a limit that applies to "either Party". Small claims court remains an option. The opt-out window is short and covers arbitration only. EU consumers have separate rules, and enforceability varies by jurisdiction. See mandatory arbitration clauses explained and governing law and jurisdiction clauses explained.
What to ask for instead
Sample wording to propose (illustrative): "Users may opt out of arbitration at any time before a dispute arises, using a setting in their account. Users may bring individual claims in a court where they live."
5. Changes to the terms
We may decide to update these terms: (1) to reflect changes to our services or our business, (2) for legal or regulatory reasons, (3) to prevent abuse on or of our services, or (4) to better protect or serve users of our services. If these changes materially affect your Discord use or your legal rights, we’ll give you reasonable advance notice (unless the updates are urgent). If you continue to use our services after the changes have taken effect, it means that you agree to the changes. If you don’t agree, you must stop using our services.
Source: https://discord.com/terms, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Why it works against you
The terms don't define "reasonable advance notice." It applies only to changes that "materially affect" you, and urgent updates can come with no notice at all. The only way to reject a change is to stop using Discord. Changes to the Agreement to Arbitrate get a fixed "30 days’ notice," but the rest of the terms have no fixed notice period. The Community Guidelines and other policies are part of the contract, so changes to those apply to you too.
What to ask for instead
Sample wording to propose (illustrative): "We will give at least 30 days' notice of material changes to any part of these terms, with a summary of what changed, by email and in the app."
Also worth a look
Discord limits its 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 (OR THE EQUIVALENT IN YOUR LOCAL CURRENCY)" (Source: https://discord.com/terms, retrieved 2026-10-30). See limitation of liability clauses explained. You also agree to indemnify Discord, including "reasonable legal and accounting fees," for claims related to your use of the services or your content. See indemnification clauses explained. Parents who let a child use Discord are "responsible for all use of the Discord account or services, including your child’s activity on the services and purchases made by them." For comparison, see TikTok Terms of Service explained.
Scan your own document free
Terms change, and Nitro purchases, selling through Discord and developer tools each come with their own terms. Upload your Terms of Service or contract (PDF, DOCX, TXT or MD, or a photo) to the ScanMyTerms Terms of Service checker. In about a minute, you get the clauses that work against you, each with a risk level, the exact wording, why it hurts and how to change it. The free preview needs no sign-up and shows the risk count and the first two findings. The full report is $5. ScanMyTerms doesn't use your documents to train AI models, and reports are deleted after 7 days.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by jurisdiction, so ask a qualified lawyer about your situation.
Sources
- Discord Terms of Service, https://discord.com/terms, effective September 29, 2025, last updated August 29, 2025, retrieved 2026-10-30.
Scan your Terms of Service now with the free preview, no sign-up needed