The short version
From Discord's announcement on October 27.
Starting in mid-December, messages from public channels in Discoverable servers can appear on Discord's new Server Web Pages and in search results like Google.
Discoverable servers are the big public ones, with at least 1,000 members, at least eight weeks old and listed in Server Discovery, so anyone can join without an invite. Discord says there are more than 63,000 of them.
Where you live decides the default. In the EU, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia and South Korea the setting is off, and Discord says that's because of legal restrictions there. Everywhere else, including the US, it's on unless you turn it off.
Your DMs, group DMs and private servers aren't part of this, and teen accounts are left out completely.
- Switch off "Show my message content from Discoverable channels on web pages" in User Settings, under Data and Privacy.
- Do it on a computer or in the browser. The Android app doesn't have the switch yet, and the choice carries over to your phone.
- One switch covers every Discoverable server you're in.
On or off where you live
The default for adult accounts, from Discord's post.
Your messages in Discoverable channels can show up on the web unless you switch the setting off.
The setting starts off because of legal restrictions in these places. Nothing shows unless you turn it on.
Left out completely, and they can't turn it on until they're adults.
When it happens
Two dates from Discord's post.
- Oct 27TodayThe switch is already thereYou can turn it off today, before anything goes live.
- Nov 16StartsServer Web PagesEvery Discoverable server gets its own web page, with automated summaries of what people talk about in the channels its admins pick.
- Mid-DecStartsMessages in searchMessages from public channels, where the server's admins allow it, can appear on those pages and in search results. Anything sent before then stays out, whatever your setting.
What shows, and what's one step away
Usernames stay off the page, but the server is still public.
Discord says usernames and avatars won't be shown next to messages on Server Web Pages. The words themselves can appear as you wrote them.
The server those words came from is public, and anyone can join it without an invite. Inside, Discord's own search indexes every message back to the first one in each channel, and every message sits next to the name of whoever sent it. So a message found on Google is a join and a search away from your name.
Turning the switch off covers messages you send after that. Messages you sent while it was on stay up unless you delete them, and Android Authority notes search engines may keep cached copies after Discord removes something.
Discord's reason for all this is that answers people need, like the best build for a game's character, are stuck inside Discord where search engines can't reach them.
Read Discord's announcementHow to turn it off
On the desktop app or discord.com in a browser.
- 1
Open User Settings
Click the gear next to your name at the bottom left.
- 2
Go to Data and Privacy
It's in the list on the left, under your account settings.
- 3
Switch off the Discoverable setting
Find "Show my message content from Discoverable channels on web pages" and turn it off. It covers every Discoverable server you're in.
- 4
If you run a server
Open Server Settings and go to Web Presence. You can pick which channels take part in Channel Messages and Channel Summaries, or turn them all off.
Posts and coverage
What we read for this page, newest first.
Android Authority
Step-by-step opt-out, the Android app gap and the regional defaults.
androidauthority.com
