Early last week, Discord announced a significant change that would block iOS users from accessing servers with NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content. However, the company decided to reverse its decision on Tuesday and will now soften such restrictions, allowing some NSFW content to be viewed on the iPhone and iPad.
As noted by Gizmodo, Discord has updated its guidelines on NSFW servers following the negative reaction from multiple users regarding last week’s decision.
While the original idea was to block any NSFW content on iOS devices, the restriction now applies only to servers that are focused on explicit pornography or other NSFW topics. Individual channels will still be accessible, and NSFW content will be shown based on the user’s age.
In a statement, Discord reinforces that it wants to make the platform safe for younger users and that it wants to avoid any conflicts with App Store guidelines, which prohibit apps that provide easy and explicit access to pornography and other NSFW content.
While App Store guidelines may indeed cause problems for apps with such content, rumors suggest that Discord has been considering restricting NSFW servers to clean up the platform’s reputation as the company looks for potential buyers, possibly Microsoft.
Our goal is always to keep Discord safe, especially for our younger users. Last week, we introduced additional controls to ensure minors will not be exposed to content that is inappropriate for them per App Store guidelines. We realize the community had many questions, and we wanted to clarify our position and which servers will or will not be affected. These updates are outlined in detail on our support articles for users and server owners. We will continue to work with server owners and our partners, and will notify all server owners letting them know which of their servers are impacted.
