Does Discord have end-to-end encryption? What is encrypted, what is readable, and how to stay private

Discord does not have end-to-end encryption for text. Direct messages, group messages, channel messages, images and files are encrypted in transit and at rest, but Discord holds the keys and can access their content. Discord has rolled out end-to-end encryption for audio and video in direct message calls, group calls and voice channels, so the media in a call cannot be decrypted by Discord. If a conversation must be confidential from the provider, Discord's text chat is the wrong place for it.

Discord is where a very large number of people spend their online social life, and its encryption story is easy to misread because the company has done real encryption work on one half of the product. This guide sets out what Discord encrypts and how, what Discord can and does access, how moderation and retention interact with privacy, how to check whether your call is end-to-end encrypted, and where to hold the conversations that Discord is not built for.

What encryption Discord has

Every connection to Discord, from the apps and browsers to Discord's servers, is encrypted in transit with TLS, as the HTTPS guide on this site describes. Data stored on Discord's servers is encrypted at rest. These two layers protect against eavesdroppers on your network and against someone walking off with a disk, and every serious service has them. They do not protect the content from Discord, which decrypts everything it stores.

For audio and video, Discord has implemented end-to-end encryption using a protocol designed for group calls. In supported clients, the media in direct message calls, group direct message calls and server voice channels is encrypted on each participant's device with keys negotiated among the participants, and Discord's servers relay media they cannot decrypt. The call interface shows an indicator when end-to-end encryption is active, and participants can compare a verification code to confirm no one is intercepting. Discord has published the protocol design and commissioned an independent review of it.

For text, images, files and everything else in channels and direct messages, there is no end-to-end encryption. The end-to-end encryption guide on this site explains what that absence means: Discord's systems can read the content.

What Discord can access

Because text is not end-to-end encrypted, Discord can access message content, and its published policies describe when it does. Discord states that it does not read private messages proactively, and that it does access content in response to user reports, in the course of trust and safety investigations, in response to valid legal requests, and through automated scanning that applies to certain content such as media in direct messages, which can be adjusted in privacy settings for some categories. Server owners and moderators see everything in their servers' channels but not direct messages between users.

Discord also collects the metadata one would expect: account details, IP addresses, devices, servers joined, who you message and when, voice channel activity, and payment information. The privacy policy describes retention and sharing. End-to-end encrypted calls protect the media but not the fact of the call, its participants or its duration.

Moderation, reports and retention

Discord's model is community moderation over a platform the company can inspect. Anyone in a conversation can report a message, and reporting transmits the content to Discord. Server moderators can log messages with bots, which store copies outside Discord entirely. Deleting a message removes it from the client; it does not remove copies already made by bots, screenshots or logging, and Discord's own retention follows its policy. A message posted in a Discord server should be assumed permanent and readable by the platform, the server staff and whoever they have granted logging access.

Direct messages are more private than servers, since moderators of servers you share cannot see them, but they are still readable by Discord under the conditions above.

Checking that your call is end-to-end encrypted

1. Use a current desktop or mobile client; end-to-end encrypted calls require all participants to be on supporting versions.
2. Start or join a direct message call, group call or voice channel.
3. Look for the encryption indicator in the call interface. If a participant joins from an unsupported client, the call may fall back to transport encryption only, and the indicator changes.
4. To verify, open the call's encryption details and compare the verification code with another participant through a separate channel. Matching codes confirm the keys were not substituted.
5. Remember that screen sharing and streaming are covered where indicated, but chat messages typed during a call are ordinary text and are not end to end.

A five-point privacy routine for Discord

1. Treat every text message, direct or otherwise, as readable by Discord and permanent.
2. Review privacy and safety settings, including who can send you direct messages, whether media in DMs is scanned, and what data sharing is enabled.
3. Do not share credentials, identity documents, addresses or anything you would not put on a postcard in Discord text.
4. Use a distinct username and avatar if your Discord identity should not link to your real one, as the anonymity guides on this site describe, and understand that Discord still knows your email, phone if provided, and IP address.
5. For conversations that need confidentiality from the platform, move them to an end-to-end encrypted messenger.

Where to hold genuinely private conversations

Discord is designed for communities, and its lack of end-to-end encrypted text is a design choice that supports moderation at scale. For a private conversation, use a messenger built around default end-to-end encryption with verified keys, disappearing messages and encrypted or absent backups. The encrypted messaging apps guide on this site compares them, and the Signal versus Telegram guide addresses the two most often suggested. For group voice with end-to-end encryption, Discord's calls are now a reasonable option, provided the text alongside them stays innocuous.

What Discord and independent reviewers say

The description above follows Discord's published documentation and outside assessments.

Discord's engineering documentation describes its end-to-end encryption for audio and video, names the protocol it is based on, notes the independent review it commissioned, and states explicitly that text messages are not end-to-end encrypted.

Discord's privacy policy and safety documentation describe the conditions under which the company accesses message content, the automated scanning that applies to some media, and its data retention practices.

Digital-rights organisations and security reviewers have characterised Discord's call encryption as a meaningful improvement while continuing to advise that Discord text should not be used for confidential communication, and recommend dedicated end-to-end encrypted messengers for that purpose.

Use Discord for what it is

Discord's voice and video are now end-to-end encrypted, which is worth confirming with the indicator when it matters. Its text is not, and no setting changes that. Enjoy the communities, keep the text unremarkable, and carry anything confidential to a messenger where the provider is locked out by design.

Frequently asked questions

Last reviewed and updated on 2026-09-10. Plain text version: /encryption/discord-end-to-end-encryption.txt.