What you need to know
- Discord is rolling back its ban on some NSFW servers on iOS.
- The company will continue to completely block servers focused on "explicit pornographic content."
Discord, after initially banning all NSFW servers on its iOS app, is rolling back some of the restrictions.
As reported by The Verge, the company will continue to completly block servers dedicated to "explicit pornographic content" on the iPhone and iPad. Other NSFW servers will be blocked by default, but users will be able to opt in to access them.
Last week, Discord had announced that all NSFW servers would be blocked on its iOS app and, for those in the Apple ecosystem, only available on the web and its desktop Mac app.
Our Community Guidelines require that all adult content posted to Discord be kept behind an NSFW gate. Server owners can designate specific channels as being 18+ by adding an NSFW gate. Entire communities can now be classified as 18+ through the use of an NSFW server designation. No users between the ages of 13 and 17 will be able to join or view the content in NSFW servers.Additionally, all users on the iOS platform (including those aged 18+) will be blocked from joining and accessing NSFW servers. iOS users aged 18+ will still be able to join and access NSFW communities on the desktop and web versions of Discord.
The next day the company confirmed that it was making the change in order to comply with App Store policies.
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[.]"
However, Discord is now rolling back some of those restrictions due to a loophole that allows certain content in an app as long as it is hidden by default.
Apple does offer a partial loophole, though, which Discord is taking advantage of: "incidental mature 'NSFW' content" is allowed in iOS apps, so long as it's hidden by default. Apple requires that users opt in via a website — not the app itself — and that's exactly how Discord has set up its system to reenable access to NSFW content."Our goal is always to keep Discord safe, especially for our younger users," the spokesperson said. The company published additional details on Reddit. "We will continue to work with server owners and our partners, and will notify all server owners letting them know which of their servers are impacted."
Those with the Discord app on iOS or iPad should once again be able to access NSFW servers as long as they as they are not focused on "explicit pornographic content."
