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Internet safety is an industry-wide issue that requires a collaborative approach. Discord is deeply committed to helping to tackle this issue, both through our own interventions and with our partners. For Discord, safety is a common good. We want to make the entire internet - not just Discord - a better and safer place, especially for young people.
Leading up to Safer Internet Day 2025, we’re excited to share how Discord is continuing to invest in bettering the internet ecosystem as a whole and providing additional tools for our teen users to make informed choices about their online experiences.
We have two exciting announcements today - Discord’s founding role in a new cross-industry non-profit foundation called ROOST (Robust Open Online Safety Tools) and the global launch of our new safety tool, Ignore.
Since this year’s Safer Internet Day theme is about protecting yourself from scams and frauds, we’ve also provided some helpful tips and tricks to keep in mind as you use the internet.
As technologies continue to evolve, so does the dynamic safety landscape. This presents new challenges that no entity can tackle alone, and so continued industry investment in safety features is imperative to make the Internet a safer place for all.
Today, Discord and other founding partners – including OpenAI, Google, Roblox, Eric Schmidt, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, AI Collaborative, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and Project Liberty Institute - unveiled a new cross-industry non-profit foundation called ROOST.
ROOST - or Robust Open Online Safety Tools - addresses a critical gap in child safety and digital safety by providing free, open-source safety tools to organizations of all sizes. This will alleviate the need for organizations to reinvent the wheel in building tools that already exist, empowering them - especially smaller companies and public interest organizations - to focus on growing their platforms or services while promoting safety for online users.
ROOST will offer free, open source and easy-to-use tools to detect, review, and report child sexual abuse material (CSAM), leverage large language models to power safety infrastructure, and make core safety technologies more accessible and more user friendly.
With dedicated technical teams providing hands-on support, ROOST meets organizations where they are, helping them integrate robust safety measures while continuing to innovate.
In addition to being a founding partner, Discord’s Chief Legal Officer Clint Smith will serve as Board Chair of ROOST and Discord is contributing funding, technology, and employee expertise to the foundation.
This builds on the progress and momentum we’ve seen over the past year in industry collaboration - signal sharing on bad actors via the Tech Coalitions' Lantern initiative, codifying safety best practices via the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership, training thousands of career professionals from around the world through Trust & Safety Professional Association and TrustCon. Discord is proud to be a part of this effort, helping to foster innovation, and urgently bring new safety tools to market. We’re hopeful that together we’ll protect even more users, children, and families to make the internet an even better place.
Core to our work is providing a variety of controls and settings to give our users choice in their experience on Discord. Rolling out globally today, we’re excited to introduce a new feature in our safety toolbox designed to help manage your social boundaries in a gentler way: Ignore.
With Ignore, you can take space from specific people without them knowing, so you can stay focused on the fun. Whether you just need some time away or want to take a more discreet route, Ignore lets you personalize your approach.
Currently, you can block a user to prevent interactions with them, but we’ve heard from our users that this can sometimes feel confrontational and scary. This is particularly the case for teen users who often want to take space without the person knowing - we built this tool for you!
Here’s how it works:
While tools like Ignore help you manage your interactions, it’s equally important to stay aware of potential threats online. Keep reading for some tips on how to stay safe and protect yourself from scams.
This year’s Safer Internet Day theme is about protecting yourself and others from scams online.
Online scams can be serious, but with the right strategies, you can power-up your defenses and stay safe across the internet. Below are some tips to keep in mind while you’re using Discord or chilling anywhere online. Stay alert and keep your guard up to outsmart those sneaky scammers!
Reminders and tips to stay in control:
This Safer Internet Day and beyond, Discord is committed to making the internet as a whole a better, safer place and we are proud to continue to offer additional tools for our users to make informed choices that work best for them. We look forward to sharing more ways we’re continuing this important work! Additionally, we’re proud to collaborate with industry leading organizations. Check out these resources from a few of our partners below:
Finally, for users outside the US, Discord partners with ThroughLine Care, a global network for vetted helplines. The directory includes crisis support lines in over 100+ countries and is available in 11 languages. Users in the United States can text DISCORD to 741741 to connect with a live volunteer Crisis Counselor at Crisis Text Line: a free, 24/7, confidential text-based mental health service available in both English and Spanish.
