With Discord being one of the most popular apps out there to have voice calls and video conversations, one might start to wonder if those calls are actually private and encrypted, or if they’re being monitored and recorded. The short answer is that your Discord voice calls aren’t recorded, but let’s see what kind of information they do monitor and how user privacy is being protected.
Are Discord voice calls private and safe?
If you’re asking this question, it’s a good thing that you’re worried about privacy. Too many applications and websites rely on abusing their users’ privacy out of financial gain, and it’s not really a stretch to worry if your calls are being recorded as well.
Luckily, this doesn’t seem to be the case for Discord. Founders and co-workers of the application have mentioned multiple times that privacy is incredibly important for the company, and they haven’t done anything in the years that they’ve been operating to prove otherwise.
This person on Reddit was wondering if there was a record somewhere of a previous Discord call, but the terms of service and privacy policy clearly state that voice calls are not being recorded in any manner.
What exactly does their Privacy Policy say?
Of course, in order for the service to work, all of the voice calls and their data have to go through Discord’s server. This is perfectly normal because if this weren’t the case, there is no possible way that the calls would be working. Some data (such as IP addresses) can be retained, but this is to make sure that nobody gets on the platform that was previously banned. Most privacy experts agree that their privacy policy is fair and accurate. If you want, you can always check it out for yourself at Discord’s website, of course.
Are Discord voice calls encrypted?
Yes and no. Discord uses a standard layer of encryption (you might notice the HTTPS symbol when you’re browsing on Discord via the web), but its messages are not end-to-end encrypted, which is seen as a stronger form of encryption between two devices. End-to-end encryption isn’t really feasible anyway, since Discord focuses more on conversations with multiple people and interaction with (large) communities. The added encryption would make it more difficult to communicate easily.
Can Discord voice calls be traced or monitored?
Theoretically, they can. As mentioned above, Discord may retain IP address information and uses Cloudflare as a content delivery network, which can also log any IP addresses it comes into contact with. However, Discord employees have confirmed that there is no monitoring or logging of voice and video chats whatsoever. There is no reason why Discord would keep logs of this, as the data it would produce would be immense.
Can you undo deleted messages on Discord?
So what about deleted messages? If you want to recover a message that has been deleted, the reality is that you absolutely can’t. Once they’re deleted, they’re gone permanently. The same applies to attachments or images, although it may take a couple of days before the link of these files doesn’t work anymore. This is because images are cached via Cloudflare, and might still be accessible if the cache hasn’t been cleared yet.
Can Discord monitor your server activity?
Yes, they can – but under two strict conditions. The server has got to be reported for clearly illegal activity (or content that goes against Discord’s terms and conditions) and there also has to be viable proof. According to Discord employees, they never check servers to spy on them, they only act when they’re notified of something illegal.
Can Discord voice calls be recorded without you knowing?
It’s a good thing to exercise caution and common sense while you’re in a Discord voice call. You should be aware that whoever is in the conversation with you can screen record their device or take an audio recording without your knowledge. You should also know that this is illegal and clearly against the law in many states and countries, so you’re definitely in your right if your privacy has been invaded in this way. It is also possible that a bot can record your conversation – but only if it is present in the conversation. Do you want to know if Discord bots are dangerous and if they can hack you? We’ve got the perfect article for you over here:
Summary
The conclusion is, however, that Discord does not record your voice calls whatsoever. The audio files are encrypted and Discord can not hear what you are talking about, let alone record it. The privacy policy of the messaging application definitely favors the user, and you shouldn’t be worried about voice call monitoring on Discord. Your voice and video calls definitely stay private.
