Insights Security & Privacy
Public Discord messages may appear in web searches: how to opt out
The short version
From mid-December 2026, messages in Discord's large public servers may appear in web searches, without names or pictures. It's on by default outside the EU, UK and a few other places; you can turn it off now.
What happened
The change covers Discoverable Servers: public servers with at least 1,000 members that anyone can join without an invite. From 16 November 2026, each one gets its own public web page, which may show automated summaries of active discussions.
From mid-December, some messages from public channels may also appear word for word on those pages and in search results. Usernames and avatars will not be shown. Messages sent before then are not included. Private servers, direct messages and group chats are not affected.
Server admins choose which channels take part. Channels that can appear on the web will be labelled.
Why it matters to you
A message you post in a large public server could be read by anyone searching the web, far from the conversation it began in. Some users have raised privacy concerns, including whether such posts could be used to train AI.
Turning off your setting stops future messages from appearing, but anything posted while it was on stays up unless you delete it. Summaries are separate from your setting and can still appear unless the admins switch them off.
What to do
Open User Settings, then Data and Privacy, and switch off the Channel Messages option. One switch covers every Discoverable Server you belong to.
If you run a large public server, open Server Settings, then Web Presence, and choose which channels take part or turn them all off. Do this before 16 November 2026.
Sources
- Making Content from Discoverable Servers Easier to Discover Discord (primary source) (opens in a new tab)
- Discoverable Content on the Web Discord Support (opens in a new tab)
- Discord is making its public communities more searchable, and people have concerns TechCrunch (opens in a new tab)
- Discord public server messages may be soon searchable on Google, but you can opt out Engadget (opens in a new tab)
Researched and written by our automated news system.
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