The best way to protect yourself against online scammers and hackers is to remain vigilant. But even if you exercise best practices in password management and web browsing, there’s no stopping the masses of personal information data brokers can build up on you over time. From the adverts you see, to the websites you visit, to the devices you browse with, people search sites can generate detailed profiles on you and your family that only make the job of advertisers, scammers, and hackers easier.

It’s your data, so you can demand they remove it, but doing that manually with the hundreds of data brokers all over the world can be frustrating and extremely time consuming. RemoveMe is an affordable service that’s designed specifically to remove the data and the usual headaches of chasing it down.

What does RemoveMe do?

RemoveMe offers fast, effective removal of your personal data from over 400 different websites with no need for you to contact anyone. It automatically finds any mention of your personal information, and issues a takedown request on your behalf, jumping through all the hoops automatically so you don’t have to.

Every takedown is verified and confirmed and where possible, RemoveMe issues opt-out requests to those same services so they don’t scrape and aggregate your information again in the future. To make sure they stick to it, too, it maintains continuous monitoring. If the data reappears on broker sites, RemoveMe automatically has it removed again.

Rather stay on top of it? RemoveMe’s dashboard lets you track each removal in real time, and will deliver a notification any time new information is detected and removed.

Why Data Removal Matters

It’s easy to think that with everyone online being recorded as much as you, that removing your personal data from people search sites won’t do much. But that data can be used by just about anyone. Often, it’s not for good reasons.

• Spam callers and scammers use data-broker dossiers to target individuals with highly specialized scams. The more personal information they have on you, the more convincing they can sound.
• Doxxing is a major concern on the web and social media, with home addresses, workplaces, and school information all making it easier to harass you in person, or target you and your family with sophisticated social engineering attacks.
• Identity theft and account breaches are far easier if a hacker has your personal details. Data brokers can serve up the kind of identifying information that attackers can use to steal accounts and impersonate you online and over the phone.

Using RemoveMe makes the job of every bad actor harder, delivering continuous automated protection for you and your family’s personal privacy.

Try it Out

Wondering just how much information on you is out there? RemoveMe offers a free 30-second scan to see just how much data brokers know about you. It’s probably more than you think.

If you’d like to take the next step and have RemoveMe act on your behalf to take down that data and shore up your personal privacy, you can have full peace of mind for just $9.99 a month.

Keeping a modern PC safe, secure, and optimized can feel like a complex juggling act of different apps and services. Learning how they work, keeping them updated, and actually remembering to run them often takes far too much time and effort. Bringing those tools together in one application can make the job far simpler. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense is built as an all-in-one solution for managing your PC’s security, privacy, and performance.

Boost performance, lock down security

When it comes to protecting against viruses and malware, the best defense is proactive. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense includes real-time monitoring and a system shield that actively protects against trojans, ransomware, and spyware. That helps stop any nasty applications from gaining a foothold in your system by blocking them before they even get started.

It’s not just malware you need to watch out for online, though. Websites and advertisers scrape all kinds of information when you use their services. Something as innocuous as your PC’s hardware and font list are often enough to identify you to advertisers. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense locks that information down to better protect your personal privacy and make it much harder to track you online.

Whatever web services you use, you should have a strong and unique password for each of them. Re-using passwords is never a good idea, but with this tool’s built-in password generator you can quickly make a new password for every site and service, and store it conveniently offline. Local data encryption further protects your login credentials against outside attacks.

No matter how safe you are, though, a slow and unresponsive PC is a chore to use. That’s why  System Mechanic Ultimate Defense also includes automated repair algorithms that clear up unnecessary files to boost performance and free up extra storage capacity and memory space. Better yet, these tools run in the background while the PC is idle, so you don’t need to start those tasks manually. Automated optimization, with as little hassle as possible.

Easy to use, easier to manage

A convenient all-in-one tool doesn’t just consolidate features; it unifies the user experience. System Mechanic Ultimate Defense is a single app with an intuitive and familiar layout that means everything you need is just a couple of clicks off the main menu. That means less time figuring out different tools next time you want to clear up some files, or come up with a new password.

You get a free month of 24/7 technical support too, and you can extend that to cover your entire subscription period if you like.

System Mechanic Ultimate Defense brings together security, optimization, and privacy to make managing your PC simpler, easier, and less time-consuming.

Download System Mechanic Ultimate Defense today, and you can get the full suite of tools for just $39.95 for a year. Just input the code “PCWORLDSMUD” at checkout

Phishing is alive and well in 2026, as even with robust antivirus and antimalware protections, the weakest link in the security chain is often the human element. We all make mistakes, skim an email and think it’s probably fine to click that link. But wait! Don’t do it! Phishing scammers rely on you not using due diligence to protect yourself, your data, and your devices with good personal security practices.

The best way to spot phishing emails is to know what to look for. Here’s a list of some of the big phishing red flags which should send you running when you spot them.

Asking for anything

For a scam to be worth doing, the scammers need to make money. For that, they need to get you to send them something of value. That can be in the form of cash, cryptocurrency, or Amazon gift cards, or something they can sell on later, like your passwords or digital identity.

Although friends and family may occasionally ask you for something, they probably aren’t going to do it over Facebook messenger, Email, or a Whatsapp message out of the blue. If you think it might be real, contact that person directly using another method and discuss it with them.

Don’t immediately respond with what they want. Take a pause and think it through first.

Urgency

The scammers best tool is urgency. Whatever it is they need, they need it RIGHT NOW. You need to respond, quickly. Do it before you stop and think about what they’re actually asking you to do. Do it before you remember to consider demands and urgency with caution and skepticism.

Although this tip is broad and doesn’t specify exactly what the scam might be like, many of them will encourage a swift response from you. Whatever it is the person claims to need, it’s incredibly rare that someone who needs something quickly will email or message you for it. If you’re concerned a digital account may be compromised, it’s still worth taking the time to login through a secure method rather than clicking the link in the email.

Whenever any email asks you to do something with urgency, take a second and consider whether this might be a scam. Look for other signs, and if in doubt, contact the person or organization through a different method that you know is safe and secure and confirm whether the request is legitimate.

Suspicious activity warnings

As organizations have improved their digital security, you’ll sometimes get an email warning you that there has been some suspicious activity on your account. Usually this is just you logging into your email account on a new phone or via a different browser. Sometimes it is legitimately someone trying to login to your account without your permission.

But sometimes it’s someone sending you a fake warning. In those cases, they’ll push you to update your login information, or confirm some aspect of your account.

If you think it’s a scam, don’t click on any buttons or links. You can safely delete the email and forget it. If you want to be sure, close the email down and navigate to that site or service using a different tab and login that way. If there’s a problem with your account, you can address it manually yourself.

Spelling and grammar errors

This one is less common in 2026, as just as we all do, scammers have access to Grammarly and ChatGPT—they can easily write convincing sounding emails. Still, for the odd scammer out there still doing the hard work of handwriting phishing scams, they’re not always native English speakers, and their typing skills aren’t as strong as the writers at PCWorld; they make mistakes.

Look for silly typos, odd word ordering, strange sentence structure and other indicators that a person might not be whoever it is they’re claiming to be. You aren’t going to get typos in an email from Amazon claiming your account has been hacked and you need to send half a Bitcoin to fix it.

Also consider emails or messages that are out of character. If you get an email from your boss at 6:45 at night but you know they always clock off at 5:30, trust your gut. Delete. The worst case if you’re wrong is still far better than not trusting your instincts and getting caught out by a scam.

Nefarious buttons and links

I make it a habit of not clicking on buttons or links in emails as a matter of course. Sure, that means I often have to take a few extra steps to login to a service that’s emailed me, but I think it’s worth the added security.

You don’t need to go quite that far, but when you are thinking of clicking on a link or button in an email, be sure to check the bottom-left of your browser window. There you’ll see the URL that the button or link is trying to send you to. If it doesn’t line up with the site or service you’re expecting to use, don’t click it.

Odd attachments

Email attachments are one of the most popular ways for hackers to spread malware, as there’s no real way to guarantee they’re safe before you download them. Some email platforms will automatically scan them for you, but that’s no guarantee either.

If you aren’t expecting an attachment from someone, if they don’t reference it in the email, if the file type or file name looks odd, or if anything else about the email feels off, don’t open it.

If you want to be doubly sure, contact the person who sent it to you using a different communication system and ask them to send you the file over a more secure medium like a cloud service.

Generic or random sender email

Email scams can be sophisticated enough to look like they come from someone you know, but often they don’t change the email it’s sent from. If the email you’ve received claims to be from an official account like Microsoft, Amazon, or Paypal, check the sender email. If it’s a generic Hotmail, Live, Gmail, or other email that technically anyone could have created, delete it. It’s almost certainly a scam.

The same goes for if the email is a random string of numbers and letters. That’s likely set up automatically by the scammers on mass to build out their phishing infrastructure. Your friends, colleagues, and official institutions don’t have emails like that.

Also watch out if you aren’t addressed personally in the email. If it feels generic and unspecific, “Dear sir/madam,” or if they just get your name wrong, be wary. These are other signs the sender might be trying to cast a wide net for their scams.

Spoofed voice not using your password

This one’s not an email phishing scam but it’s still worth looking out for. One of the most nefarious and underhanded scams in recent years has been AI voice spoofing. Like a deepfake, but for a voice, the scammers emulate a loved one’s voice and call you up in a panic, asking for money to solve an immediate problem. The voices can sound almost identical to the real person—especially when you throw in the mild distortion you often get with a phone call.

The combination of urgency and realism can make this a hard phishing attack to spot. The best way to check if it’s real or not, is with a pre-determined password or phrase. Maybe you have a favorite TV show, or a little family motto, or some other secret that is only known to you and your loved ones. Ask them to say it. If the person on the other end of the phone can’t or won’t do it, then you know it’s a scam and can safely hang up and report it to the relevant authorities.

Two people can keep a secret if one is dead, or so goes the saying. But what happens when you share the details of your life with an AI agent? 

Unfortunately, data can’t die the same way humans do—especially so if Meta Muse is involved. Choose it as your AI executive assistant and you may end up revealing more of your personal life than intended.

Letting an AI agent work autonomously on multi-step tasks (like booking travel, making purchases, and even offering suggestions based on your plans) offers a deep view into your world. It requires direct access to connected services like your email account, too. But Meta doesn’t keep all of this information strictly private. By default, it trains its AI on your Muse data.

Deleting data also isn’t a complete wipe, either. Nuke a conversation or another interaction, and Muse could still retain info related to it. Meta describes this as “Muse may still remember information it learned from what you deleted.”

Meta says in its privacy policy that training data is anonymized, disconnected from the original users and scrubbed of personally identifiable details like names, Social Security Numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers. You can also ask Muse what it recalls about you—or go on an excavation tour of various Muse files, to see what still lingers after initial data deletion.

In a vacuum, this approach may have worked as a reassurance. But we live in the real world, where mistakes happen. Mistakes like a zero-day exploit that gave macOS apps and terminal commands access to Muse (and all its connected services), discovered just a couple of weeks after Muse’s launch. Or Muse allegedly gaining access to private messages, due to configuration settings in macOS that can allow the AI agent to see data in other apps

I have similar feelings as the security researcher who discovered the zero-day—I recommend not installing Muse on devices, particularly macOS. But I’d go one step further and caution against using Muse all together for now. 

Why? You don’t need to sacrifice your privacy or security to be a beta tester. (Yes, beta tester. For a service marketed as “built for everyone,” I’d expect it to be far more private and secure. An everyday person will not be reading privacy policies or following cybersecurity news the way I do.) 

Instead, wait for Meta’s Muse Confidential VM to launch. Right now, each Muse agent has its own virtual machine on Meta’s servers. Theoretically, this type of configuration should prevent Muse agents from reading data being stored or handled within other virtual machines. In practice, we already know that virtual machines are not bulletproof (their isolation from one another can fail). We also know that AI agents made by rival companies like Anthropic and OpenAI have escaped their sandboxes more than once.

Muse Confidential VM adds encryption as an extra layer of defense. Meta says such virtual machines and all their data will be “encrypted with a key only they hold, so not even Meta can access it.” If you’re going to hand your life over to an AI agent, keeping its developer (and any agents sharing your server) from reading your data is a smart move.

In the news

I’m wary of Meta and AI agents both individually and combined—for good reason. Meta of course has its history of playing fast and loose with user data, but AI agents are even more unpredictable. Hacking into the Australian government? Uploading user images to third-party sites? All in a day’s work.

The good:

• Signal, one of the most highly recommended end-to-end encrypted messaging apps, now supports encrypted local (on-device) backups for its iOS and desktop apps. You can also now do direct iPhone-to-iPhone transfers of Signal data. (Finally, less headache when setting up a new phone.)

The bad:

• As part of its ongoing investigation related to the Hugging Face hack, OpenAI disclosed another discovery of its AI agents behaving inappropriately. In this incident, 53 images from users were uploaded to third-party sites.

• OpenAI also detailed why one of its AI agents ended up hacking into an Australian government server. The short version: The agent just wanted to complete its task. If it weren’t so concerning, AI models’ single-minded focus on getting the job done would be admirable.

The ugly:

• Microsoft published a report on the use of AI in cybersecurity—and says that bad actors currently have the advantage. A particularly noteworthy stat? The speed between discovery of a vulnerability and its exploitation is now “well below 24 hours.” Good habits for computer use and online browsing matter more than ever.

The interesting:

• ShinyHunters’s hack into the FBI is turning into a saga. An arrest was made as part of the investigation, and the FBI also issued a direct warning to the group to turn themselves in. We learned how the break-in even happened, too.

Tip of the week

You know the password that unlocks your password manager. But do you also have your password to your email account memorized, too?

I always recommend that people commit these two passwords to memory. If you lose access to your password manager, you’ll avoid getting locked out of your email address. (Arguably, that’s worse than not having your password vault available.)

If your email account’s password is difficult to remember, consider changing it to a passphrase. (Six words long is recommended, and it should be randomly generated.) If not using a traditional password makes you nervous, also enable two-factor authentication. With such a combo in place, your account should remain secure.

TL;DR: Protect up to nine devices from ads and trackers with an AdGuard Family Plan lifetime subscription on sale for $11 through October 4.

Ad blockers usually just work on one device at a time, with a separate purchase for each phone or computer. An AdGuard Family Plan lifetime subscription blocks ads on up to nine devices, and a lifetime subscription just dropped from $169.99 down to $11 through October 4.

AdGuard strips banners, pop-ups, and video ads out of the pages you visit and leaves the content behind. Ads aren’t the only thing it stops, either. AdGuard hides your data from trackers and activity analyzers, and it blocks malware and phishing websites when someone clicks a bad link.

Those protections matter most on shared family devices. AdGuard’s parental controls let parents restrict access to adult and inappropriate content, so kids can use their own tablets and phones with fewer risks.

Nine device slots are enough to protect a household’s phones, laptops, and desktops at the same time. AdGuard runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and the lifetime plan includes future updates at no extra cost. This plan is only available to new AdGuard users, and codes must be redeemed within 30 days of purchase.

Keep ads, trackers, and bad links off every device in the house.

Get an AdGuard Family Plan lifetime subscription on sale for $11.

Sale ends October 4 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime SubscriptionSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Malware can gain access to more than just documents and apps on your PC. Get infected with a certain kind of virus, and your camera and microphone are fair game, too.

You can minimize part of the headache by disabling unused microphones. For example, maybe you have both a dedicated microphone and a webcam with a built-in mic connected—if you disable the webcam’s mic and activate the standalone mic’s mute button, that should block any eavesdropping.

Added bonus: You’ll minimize the annoyance of starting Zoom and Teams calls with the wrong mic active. (I swear, for me it’s every. single. time.)

How to disable a microphone in Windows

Head to the Sound settings in Windows (Settings > System > Sound). Under Input, click on the audio device you want to disable—this could be a webcam, a headset, or something else.

In the individual device’s settings, find General > Audio. Click on the Don’t allow button.

Why not just disconnect the cable?

Unplugging an audio device from your PC is a valid strategy if you use it rarely. But otherwise, you may run into one of two problems:

1 – You can’t use the device because the audio input is mixed with other signals and routed over a single cable. (Ex: webcam)

2 – Your USB port wears out from frequent use.

The second problem is fixable by buying a USB hub that has individual on/off switches. But turning off Windows’ access to a mic is free.

Keep antivirus active on your PC!

You can disable your microphone(s) as a precaution, but also take steps to avoid getting spyware in the first place. Let your antivirus program scan your system regularly, and avoid shady websites and downloads. Also keep an eye on your browser extensions and apps installed—sometimes, legit ones can turn bad right under your nose.

Firefox 157 is out for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android and the biggest change in this version is the new Nova design, which brings a more modern look to the browser. Mozilla has also fixed over 70 security vulnerabilities, and updates are also available for the Firefox ESR versions.

The release of Firefox 158 is scheduled for October 13th, 2026.

What’s new in Firefox 157?

Now that Firefox has adopted a two-week release cycle, major new features are growing fewer and farther between. With Firefox 157, the focus is on the new Nova design, which has heavily rounded corners and subtle color gradients on surfaces. You’ll find 12 themes, each in light and dark variants.

Mozilla has also brought back the popular Compact Mode, which groups elements together to save space—great for smaller screens.

You can learn more about the Nova redesign and what it entails in this announcement post by the Mozilla team.

Security fixes in Firefox 157

In the security advisory for Firefox 157, Mozilla lists 76 vulnerabilities that have been fixed, 30 of which were discovered and reported by external security researchers.

Mozilla classifies 38 vulnerabilities as high risk, 29 as medium risk, and nine as low risk. Among them, 32 are use-after-free (UAF) vulnerabilities, some of which could be exploited to inject and execute code, and 15 of which could be exploited to escape the browser sandbox.

Firefox ESR updates

In addition to Firefox 157, Firefox ESR releases 153.4.0, 140.17.0, and 115.42.0 are also now available. However, the latter are only available for Windows 7 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12 to 10.14 until March 2027.

In the ESR versions, Mozilla has fixed the aforementioned vulnerabilities that were also present in the code of these earlier browser generations. That amounts to 62 vulnerabilities in Firefox 153.4.0, 43 in Firefox 140.17, and 31 in Firefox 115.42.

Firefox ESR 140 received its final update on September 29th. In two weeks, this version will finally be replaced by Firefox ESR 153. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to start planning the switch.

Passwords? Left behind in the dust. You’ve moved on to passkeys—but you may not have locked them down properly.

Most people use their phones, password manager, or PC to store passkeys. Each has their advantages, but they should be secured in slightly different ways. You may also not have covered your butt in the event you ever lose access to those devices.

Here’s how to get everything in order.

Cloud-saved passkeys

If you save your passkeys to your phone or an independent password manager, they live in the cloud. Same goes for if you save them while logged into a Microsoft account in Edge or a Google account in Chrome.

Because passkeys stored in the cloud can be used across devices, you must safeguard the account holding them to prevent misuse. Set a strong, random, and unique password + two-factor authentication.

Also be smart about which cloud-based password manager you use. Independent password managers may not be as vulnerable (or targeted) as Google’s, which can end up exploited if you’re logged into Chrome. (A attack of this sort has already happened, with successful use of stored passkeys.)

Device-bound passkeys

The easiest way to avoid putting your passkeys in the cloud is to save them to your Windows PC. You’ll be required to set up Windows Hello to protect them. I recommend at least a 6-8 digit PIN, if you don’t use biometrics.

A dongle like a YubiKey or Google Titan Security Key can also securely hold passkeys offline. To lock one down, you’ll create a PIN. The minimum recommended is 6 digits—when asked, Yubico spokesperson Ryan Schin said, “The recommendation would generally be a 6-digit PIN length for all YubiKeys for greater security.” (In fact, business-specific YubiKeys actually require it.)

Worried that’s not enough? Then specifically choose a YubiKey, which will require a full wipe and reset after eight failed PIN entries. This feature protects against brute force attacks (trying multiple combinations of PINs over and over). 

Make backups!

A passkey is like a house key—if you only have one and you lose it, you end up locked out. But in this case, no one can reset the lock or otherwise pry the door open.

You’ll want to create extras, as backup. Additionally, you may want to consider leaving one with a trusted contact in case of emergency.

How? If you have cloud-based passkeys, create an additional one on your PC or hardware security key. The security keys start at $30 to $35, making them relatively inexpensive. You can even pick up YubiKeys from local retailers like Best Buy.

Alternatively, ensure you at least have access to another device logged into the account with the cloud-based passkeys. One easy, cheap option is to use an old phone, ideally one still getting modern security updates. 

As for device-based passkeys, I always recommend having one on at least two different security keys or one PC and one security key. More is better.

A viral social media post claims Windows 11 stores a preview of every photo ever deleted. The controversy centers around a well-known Windows feature called the thumbnail cache, which can still contain image thumbnails long after their original files have been deleted.

The discussion was sparked by user @Ayzacoder, which has been viewed millions of times over the last few days. However, the claim is only partially correct—while Windows 11 can store thumbnails of deleted images, not every image will automatically end up in this cache.

Windows keeps a thumbnail of every photo you've ever deleted.

It sits in a file called thumbcache_256.db, and forensic examiners pull it routinely. There are 15 more stores like it.

Here's how to find them and wipe them:

— Ayzaa (@Ayzacoder) September 26, 2026

What is the thumbnail cache?

Windows 11 creates thumbnails for photos, videos, and some document types so that they can be displayed more quickly in File Explorer. Instead of recreating the preview every time it’s needed, the operating system stores it temporarily in a local database.

This data is stored in the user profile at %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer. There you’ll find files with names such as thumbcache_32.db, thumbcache_96.db, thumbcache_256.db, or thumbcache_1024.db. These are individual thumbnail databases containing preview images in different sizes.

This thumbnail cache system has been in place since Windows Vista. Previously, Microsoft used the familiar Thumbs.db files convention, which were stored in individual folders.

Not every deleted photo is saved

The claim that’s circulating social media right now gives the impression that Windows 11 automatically archives a preview of all deleted images. However, there’s no evidence to support this.

For example, a test conducted by Windows Latest showed that several images that were downloaded and later deleted didn’t appear in the thumbnail cache. The database files weren’t altered at all.

The reason? A thumbnail preview is normally only saved when File Explorer (or another application) generates a thumbnail as part of the file preview process. If an image is never actually displayed as a preview anywhere, it won’t have made a thumbnail to end up in the cache.

Why do thumbnails remain after deletion?

The thumbnail cache is stored separately from the original image files. That means when an original photo is deleted, Windows 11 doesn’t automatically remove the corresponding thumbnail.

As a result, small image previews may still be present even though the original file itself has long since been deleted from the PC.

Investigators make use of the data

The thumbnail cache has been of interest to IT forensic experts for years. Using specialized tools, stored thumbnails can be extracted from these databases even after the original files have already been deleted.

This doesn’t automatically pose a security risk for home users. However, it does show that “file deleted” doesn’t necessarily mean that all associated information is completely wiped from the system.

Should you worry? That depends. Since these are thumbnails, they aren’t complete copies of the original images but rather reduced-size previews. A lot of the original detail will be lost, and whether the thumbnail remains recognizable will depend on the size and subject of the image.

How to clear the thumbnail cache

If you want to remove existing thumbnails from your Windows 11 PC, you can do so using the built-in thumbnail cleaner:

1. Press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut.
2. Type “cleanmgr” and press Enter.
3. Select the Windows drive.
4. Tick the “Thumbnails” box.
5. Click “Delete files.”

Windows 11 will then remove the stored thumbnails. The cache will be rebuilt as required whenever you browse folders later.

In Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education, you can also permanently disable thumbnail caching. To do this, open the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and navigate to User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → File Explorer. There you will find the policy called “Disable thumbnail caching.” Microsoft recommends enabling this setting on public computers, shared computers, or any computer where security is a key concern.

Users of Windows 11 Home can instead enable the option “Always show icons instead of thumbnails” in File Explorer. This means that image previews will no longer be displayed and, consequently, no new thumbnail previews will be created.

Back in February, Discord first attempted to launch its age verification process—only to run straight into massive user outcry. In response, the company went back to the drawing board. Now, half a year later, the branding of teen and adult accounts has finally rolled out.

As a regular Discord user, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the process. So, while waiting my turn, I read up on what I needed to know.

You can’t opt out

Discord first framed age verification on the platform as a move to protect teens. Problem was, it expected users to submit to a facial scan or upload a government ID. That sparked protest—and rightfully so, given today’s greater privacy and security concerns.

Now Discord has easier methods to prove adulthood, if you somehow get flagged as a teen. But you can’t escape the classification process. Multiple countries have begun requiring companies to confirm the ages of users, in order to protect children from harmful content and exposure to unsafe adults.

The only true way to opt out is to leave the platform all together.

Verification is now less invasive

If you stick around, Discord automatically assigns you an age group based on what it calls “signals.” Using machine learning, the platform guesses your age based on details like how old your account is, who you speak with the most, the servers you belong to, and if you’ve ever subscribed to Nitro. Discord says it does not read your messages (either those sent on servers or over direct message) as part of its evaluation.

According to Discord, this method will accurately assign an age category to over 90 percent of users. If it doesn’t, adults can prove their age through credit card info, the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, Google Wallet, or AgeKey. (AgeKey is a service owned by Singaporean age verification company k-ID.)

Discord says its third-party vendors for age confirmation must abide by its data retention policies. Namely, any age verification related data can only be kept for the time needed to confirm age, then must be deleted after. If facial age estimation comes into play, it can only be performed on your device.

You can choose not to verify

Still don’t want Discord to have any further information about you in order to escape classification as a teen? You can still keep using the platform, but your access will be more locked down.

Teen accounts are restricted from age-gated servers, content, and settings. Messages with sensitive content may be blurred or all together blocked, depending on the source. Direct messages from non-friends will automatically be sent to a message request inbox, allowing you to screen them before they appear in your normal DM list. (For the full details on Teen protections, you can read Discord’s full rundown.)

Perhaps a small benefit: Discord is now enabling “spoiler channels,” which will let server owners sequester juicy info without having to age-lock them. (AKA the long-standing workaround.)

Where to check your status

Head to Settings > Account. Under Account Status, you’ll see “Age Group.” Your status will be listed as either Teen or Adult.

Anecdotally, users on PCWorld’s The Full Nerd Discord server have reported getting Adult status—and just before I filed this story, I received the same designation, too. So Discord may end up being right about its high estimates for accurately pinpointing “mature” behavior.

(We’re all still emotionally unsure it was correct, though.)