After Discord announced it would require age verification or automatically limit accounts to teen settings, searches for other platforms like Discord have increased dramatically.
Discord announced that starting in March 2026, it will require all users to verify their age. If a user doesn’t verify, Discord will automatically categorize them as a teenager and apply safety features designed for that age group.
This change was presented as a way to make the platform safer and follow the rules. Immediately after the announcement, many people started searching online for alternatives to Discord, including apps like Stoat.
Who are the Discord alternatives?
Searches for alternatives to Discord significantly increased on February 9th, coinciding with Discord’s announcement, and continued to rise sharply in the following days. Interest went from virtually nonexistent to its highest point within just a few hours, according to Google Trends data.
I’ve been noticing a lot of people are really into open-source chat options lately! Most of the searches I’m seeing are for Stoat – which used to be called Revolt – and Matrix. There’s also some interest in older platforms like Teamspeak and Ventrilo, and even Skype, though sadly Microsoft shut that one down in May 2025. It’s cool to see people exploring different ways to connect!
The recent increase in activity indicates some Discord users are checking out other platforms, likely because of the new verification rules.
Honestly, I’m still not sure how many people will actually switch to other apps because of all this. But even if it’s just a few, it seems like these changes might cause Discord to lose some users, at least for a little while. It’s a bit worrying to see, even this early on.
In January, news emerged that the company had secretly submitted paperwork for an IPO in the United States.
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2026-02-11 14:49