People worldwide use the popular app called Discord for text, voice, and video communications amongst themselves. Irrespective of whether they intend to carry out a coordinated attack in Apex Legends or simply discuss strategies for improving their performance on Counter-Strike, Discord is the preferred app.
The popularity of Discord has soared over the past couple of years, and as per official records, the company has over 250 million users. However, of late, this top-rated VOIP service has come under the radar for having several security holes.
Some issues related to the usage of this app reached a boiling point with an FBI investigation. In this blog post, we shall delve into Discord’s security holes and how you can stay private in the face of severe security and privacy threats.
Privacy issues with Discord
Since its launch in 2015, Discord was frequently targeted for its privacy issues. Thus, as a gamer, you must be aware of all the privacy issues and take necessary measures to stay under the radar while using Discord.
Substandard product management
Considering the access rights Discord requires, the attention to security must be impeccable. A typical Discord user will likely grant access to their webcam, microphone, and screen. However, experts notice that Discord is not the best at providing genuinely quality services. In many instances, their responses or reactions left much to be desired.
Numerous users’ requests for fixing issues with the UI have gone unattended as Discord never paid heed to these requests. On the other hand, it has banned users who tried to improve their UI using addons for violating its terms of service.
While functionality issues are unavoidable to any business, the response time is a crucial thing to judge. On multiple occasions, Discord has struggled to fix issues timely. Participating in Discord-gated surveys can shed light on user experiences and highlight the community’s needs, allowing users to voice their opinions effectively.
Discord can be spyware
Cyber security experts claim that the threat level is extremely high because of how Discord collects and uses data. Discord collects data through /api/science and /api/track – these are identical interfaces that accept similar input. If you have been using tools such as content blockers /api/track might be blocked, but /api/science can easily bypass it.
Discord has the user data sitting on its servers, and it can use it the way it wants.
Unreliable service?
Some claim Discord not to be a trustworthy service as it tends to ban users on trivial grounds, and there’re rumors that even a simple joke about the age among subscribers can lead to a ban.
Yes, Discord is for users above the age of 13 years, and users need to furnish a copy of their passport with the username written on another paper. The company has often been accused of administrative abuse as its employees indulged in illegal activities like using vanity URLs for their channels etc.
Pending legal issues
Discord chat rooms have been used for various illegal activities, and criminals have used them to organize their activities.
Hosting and Distribution of Malware
Discord could be a possible breeding ground for hosting and distributing malware. The app itself will never affect your device, but it would provide all the necessary things needed to spread malware. RAT or Remote Access Trojan is one of the most used malware distributed in the form of malicious links. It is unacceptable if you’re even a little concerned about your privacy.
Opaque privacy policy
Discord has recently revised its old privacy policy and has turned more opaque about how it manages user data. Some of the issues that we found challenging user privacy include logging IP address and activity and recording too much data like username, email address, messages, and even images used in communication. Moreover, Discord sells the aggregated data to third parties and even collects the contacts associated with every user.
Of course, there are options for stopping Discord from learning specific details about you. For instance, a VPN can help you cover your tracks by masking your IP address. If you wonder what your IP address is and what it reveals, it is an identifier exposing your location and other details. A VPN for PC lets you get a new IP address that pinpoints a different location.
Conclusion
Discord is one of the most advanced systems for gamers or work colleagues. It has many benefits, and people might be using it for years. Thus, they might feel at home whenever they launch the app. However, it is essential to know that it has issues. Depending on your position, they might be serious enough to make you look the other way.
