Some users have thought about using alternative social media platforms in the weeks following Twitter’s acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk. This is not to argue that Twitter has disappeared; it is still operational, despite a high personnel turnover rate and acrimonious modifications to its authentication system. Discord, a communications tool popular among gamers who already rely on it for social interaction, has come up in discussions about alternative platforms.
Mobile devices, Xbox game systems, and desktops all support the app. Although some users have claimed that the chat app is less user-friendly than programs like Zoom or Skype, gamers prefer it because of its dependability, pseudonymity, and emphasis on text and voice communication over video.
Discord has received hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital funding since 2015 and has gradually changed some of its platforms to be more branded-friendly. The social media platform thrived in the pandemic, like other communication applications, and may experience a new uptick in users looking for Twitter substitutes.
How do I join Discord?
Visit discord.gg to download the chat app for a computer, or visit an app store to download Discord for a phone. There is a comprehensive explainer for Xbox that explains how to enable the voice app on the console. There is also a browser-based version, however, it tends to have more bugs than the software that is downloaded directly.
The social media platform declined to provide an estimated release date for the PlayStation 5.
How does Discord operate?
Users take part in servers on Discord, which are akin to the chatrooms you might recall from the AOL era. Many servers are invite-only and private. Many of the servers used by brands, influencers, and esports communities are open to the public. By selecting the plus sign on the left side of the program, you can also launch your own server and start adding people by their usernames.
Channels are spaces on servers where users can communicate with one another; a server may have several channels. The majority of channels are voice channels, however, you can join one at any moment. Doing so will place you on an audio call with anyone else in that voice channel. If a caller doesn’t want to talk or hear what others are saying, they can mute or go completely deaf. (Extra tip: Be sure to shut off the voice channel when you’re finished.)
Is it safe to use Discord?
Discord’s anonymity and the capacity to create servers that anybody may join freely have both been abused in the past.
Hate groups and other troublemakers have already congregated on the social media platform. Customers could see that the chat app feels much more hostile to these folks. Several servers that promoted Nazi ideology had been banned. While the social media platform doesn’t read user messages, the platform can spot servers that aren’t abiding by its rules.
What security options does Discord provide?
In the past, parents who claimed to be the parents of kids who were being bullied in private servers they couldn’t access have complained to the Better Business Bureau. The social media platform advises users under the age of 18 to disable direct messages from strangers, only accept friend requests from people they know, and enable the “Keep me safe” setting to filter sexual content from photos and videos.
The company introduced an AutoMod tool earlier this year to support human moderators across all of its servers. AutoMod is an automatic technology that uses content filters to block out terms that have been detected, much like other services on YouTube and Twitch. AutoMod concentrates on text chat and excludes audio and video, which have historically lacked live moderation.
Does Discord have a price?
The chat app is available for free, but it also has a subscription option that allows for larger file uploads and a wider variety of emojis. The $2.99/month entry-level subscription tier increases the size of files and emoji slightly, while the $9.99/month tier enhances video streaming quality, greatly increases the number of file shares, and adds features like additional Activities.
It experimented with the feature in a trial phase before announcing Activities earlier in the fall. They consist of the ability to watch television episodes together, play chess or poker, and other slightly more challenging team games.
Users of Discord can listen to music, albeit the procedure has evolved as the network has grown. Users of the chat app relied for years on the Groovy music bot, a free piece of third-party software that let users play music by downloading it from YouTube. The bot was disabled earlier this year after Google filed a cease and desist letter to the developers. Then it revealed a formal alliance with YouTube to enable group video watching. Any YouTuber can turn on the chat app community integration. Only customers who have paid for a YouTube membership can access it.
Is Discord a good alternative to Twitter?
Discord doesn’t have a main feed in the same sense that other social media applications do. Users must continue the dialogue and check in on the communities they care about. The chat app can still be used, like Twitter, to disseminate news, communicate with communities, and discuss connections. It might be an efficient approach to contact many individuals at once or a dependable technique to send a direct message to just one person. Discord is used as the primary method of communication in some communities