Discord recently announced that it will roll out an age verification system in March, a move that sparked a negative reaction from part of its community. In response, many users began looking for alternatives.
As a result, TeamSpeak has recorded a sharp increase in activity. According to the company, the service has experienced an incredible surge of new users, which has caused its hosting infrastructure to become overloaded in several regions, including the US. The TeamSpeak team stated that it is working to expand server availability in other parts of the world to meet the growing demand.
TeamSpeak’s popularity is explained by the ease of registration and the absence of immediate age restrictions. During testing, users were able to join 18+ chats without any obstacles. At the same time, there is no guarantee that the service will not introduce its own age verification in the future. In the UK, such measures may be required under the Online Safety Act.
«No social media platform should get a free pass when it comes to protecting our kids», — emphasized Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Additionally, users who do not want to interact with random people who also have an unhealthy obsession with Arc Raiders will likely need to pay a small subscription fee to rent their own ten-person community voice server. At this stage, users still provide their payment details and, in effect, undergo an indirect age verification. For those who wish to limit how much personal information their chosen chat platform holds, there may be better alternatives.
Discord plans to implement facial scans and ID checks globally. Privacy concerns have intensified following reports of a possible leak of tens of thousands of images related to age verification. The company clarifies that not all users will need to undergo the checks, as the platform can confirm your age group using information it already has. In the UK, some users may be included in an experiment using the third-party service Persona, whose investors include Peter Thiel. For this reason, some users are turning to TeamSpeak again as a temporary alternative.
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