What is Discord and who can use it?

DISCORD allows you to create your very own platform for either a private or group chat.

Here’s what we know about the app used by millions across the world.

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What is Discord?

Discord is an app used for voice, video and text chats with communities and friends.

It is particularly popular with gamers, allowing them to communicate with each other online.

Users can speak to a group of friends through text chat and Skype-style voice calls while they are playing computer games.

Discord was launched in May 2015 and by December 2017 had grown to around 87million users worldwide.

It is especially popular in multiplayer sports and role-play games in which players join up as teams or compete against one another.

The app maker says: “It is perfect for chatting with team members, seeing who is playing online, and catching up on text conversations you may have missed.”

Despite starting out as an app for online gamers, the app, which was co-founded by Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevskiy, is now popular across the board and is available to everyone.

Discord hosts thousands of Reddit-style message boards covering a range of subjects, many not related to gaming such as sport, politics and religion.

The app has been plagued by problems of trolls abusing other users and bombarding them with vile insults.

Groups of trolls also organise “raids” on other communities in which they flood the group with hateful messages or spam.

Discord was reportedly used by neo-Nazis to plan the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017.

How do you use the Discord app?

To use Discord, you’ll want to sign up for an account first.

Then you can opt to use Discord as an app (on your computer or phone) – or in a web browser.

Discord works like Slack – or even a live-chat version of Reddit – in that it’s split up into servers.

These servers are hosted by individuals, and can be used to talk about work, a game, as a hangout for a friendship, or anything else.

And servers can have sub-channels that are used for more specific discussion.

Each server can also host group voice and video calls, as well as game-streaming.

Some servers require invites to join, and some channels will be private and inaccessible to you.

You choose how your own server is set up, and you can run (or join) multiple servers.

Did Discord partner with Sony?

In March 2021, the business world was set ablaze with rumours of a major acquisition.

Microsoft was said to be in talks with Discord about a buy-out.

However, just a month later talks ended after Discord rejected a $12billion bid.

In May 2021, Sony made a minority investment as part of Discord’s Series H round.

Sony CEO Jim Ryan said: “Together, our teams are already hard at work connecting Discord with your social and gaming experience on PlayStation Network.

“Our goal is to bring the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together on console and mobile starting early next year, allowing friends, groups, and communities to hang out, have fun, and communicate more easily while playing games together.”

But it wasn’t until February 2022, that Discord PlayStation support began rolling out across the US, although it was already available in Europe and the UK.

The support allows players to link their PlayStation and Discord accounts.

In May 2022, Discord also added a Spotify connection allowing users to share what they’re listening too.

What documents were leaked on Discord?

In April 2023, it was revealed that classified Pentagon documents were leaked on the app.

US Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was arrested on Thursday, April 13, 2023, after he was identified as running an online chat group called Thug Shaker Central.

The group is allegedly responsible for leaking the documents.

It is believed that data that was shared included troop movements in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The documents also included information about China, suggesting that Beijing has secretly launched a 6,500mph hypersonic missile that could beat US defence systems.

Experts have said it is the worst such leak since the infamous Edward Snowden leaks that saw the former NSA contractor provide files to reporters back in 2013.