Discord guarantees outraged customers it gained’t retailer name recordings—for now

Earlier than it was up to date final month, Discord’s privateness coverage particularly promised to alert customers “prematurely” if the corporate ever began storing contents of video calls, voice calls, or channels. That’s why some customers turned alarmed when the newest updates—which go into impact March 27—appeared to quietly drop this promise. One Discord consumer requested Ars to analyze, questioning, “Does Discord plan to retain name recordings?”

In response to a Discord spokesperson, the reply is not any.

“There has not been a change in Discord’s place on how we retailer or document the contents of video or voice channels,” a Discord spokesperson informed Ars. “We acknowledge that once we not too long ago issued adjusted language in our privateness coverage, we inadvertently triggered confusion amongst our customers. To be clear, nothing has modified and we now have reinserted the language again into our privateness coverage, together with some further clarifying data.”

Earlier than customers started complaining, the coverage was going to be up to date to say that Discord could be amassing data on “any content material that you simply add to the service. For instance, you might write messages or posts (together with drafts), ship voice messages, create customized emojis, create brief recordings of GoLive exercise, or add and share recordsdata via the providers. This additionally contains your profile data and the knowledge you present once you create servers.”

As customers raised issues on Reddit, Discord staffers appeared to hurry to assuage fears, saying, “We perceive that the wording of the brand new privateness coverage is broad and might be misunderstood” and promising, “We’re going to repair this.”

Since then, Discord added again within the lacking language, phrase for phrase: “We typically don’t retailer the contents of video or voice calls or channels. If we had been to alter that sooner or later (for instance, to facilitate content material moderation), we’d disclose that to you prematurely.” A Reddit consumer figuring out as a Discord staffer informed Redditors that Discord gained’t “usually” accumulate one of these content material.

In the US and the European Union, name recordings by anybody not taking part within the name are unlawful and usually require consent. It’s possible that Discord up to date the privateness coverage not simply to appease customers but in addition to cowl its tracks legally, however that does not imply it is going to by no means occur. In response to consumer outrage, the coverage’s new up to date language now additionally specifies that Discord could accumulate a few of one of these content material sooner or later.

“We could construct options that assist customers have interaction with voice and video content material, like create or ship brief recordings,” Discord’s new coverage states.

Discord doesn’t have an ideal document on the subject of consumer privateness. Final yr, Discord was fined 800,000 euro for privateness violations within the EU, together with failing to shut out voice rooms when Home windows customers clicked the “X” icon. As a substitute of exiting these customers, the EU discovered that customers unwittingly stayed logged in to voice rooms, which continued working within the background and might be transmitting non-public conversations that customers didn’t know might be overheard.