Before it was updated last month, Discord’s Privacy Policy It specifically promised to warn users “in advance” if the company starts storing video calls, voice calls or channel content. That’s why some users panicked when the latest updates, which will go into effect on March 27, seemed to quietly renege on that promise. One Discord user asked Ars to investigate, asking, “Does Discord plan to save call recordings?”
According to a Discord spokesperson, the answer is no.
“Discord’s position regarding how it stores or records the content of its video or audio channels has not changed,” a Discord spokesperson told Ars. “We realize that when we recently released the revised wording in our privacy policy, we inadvertently created confusion among our users. For clarity, nothing has changed and we have reposted this language to our privacy policy along with additional clarifying information.”
That was the policy before users started complaining Will update to say Discord will collect information about “any content you upload to the Service. For example, you create messages or posts (including drafts), send voice messages, create custom emoticons, create short records of GoLive activities, or upload and share files through the Services. .” This also includes your profile information and the information you provide when creating servers.
Users have also expressed concern on redditDiscord staff seemed quick to allay concerns, saying, “We understand that the wording of the new privacy policy is broad and open to misinterpretation,” and promised, “We’ll fix it.”
Discord has since added the missing language verbatim: “We generally do not store video call, audio, or channel content. If we want to change it in the future (for example to make it easier). to moderate content), we will notify you in advance. One Reddit user, who identified himself as a Discord employee, told Redditors that Discord would not “regularly” collect this type of content.
In the United States and the European Union, recording calls by anyone not involved in the conversation is illegal and usually requires consent. It’s possible that Discord will update its privacy policy not only to satisfy users but also to legally cover their songs, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen. In response to user outrage, the new updated policy language now also states that Discord may continue to collect some of this type of content.
Discord’s new policy states that “we may create features that help users interact with audio and video content, such as creating or sending short recordings.”
Discord doesn’t have a perfect record when it comes to user privacy. Last year it was a controversy A fine of 800,000 euros to privacy violations in the European Union, including the failure to close audio rooms when Windows users click the “X” icon. Instead of logging these users out, the EU found that users remained unwittingly logged into audio rooms that continued to run in the background and could broadcast private conversations that users didn’t know could be overheard.