Discord encrypts all voice and video calls by default

Discord has flipped the switch on end-to-end encryption for every voice and video call on its platform, a move that means not even the company itself can access what its hundreds of millions of users say on calls.

Mark Smith, Discord’s VP of core technology, confirmed the rollout in a blog post on Monday, stating that end-to-end encryption is now standard for every voice and video call on Discord, with no opt-in required. The only exception is stage channels, which remain unencrypted.

The change covers direct messages, group calls, server voice channels, and Go Live streams across desktop, mobile, web, and console clients. Discord’s encryption is powered by its custom DAVE protocol, an open-source system the company first introduced in September 2024 and had independently audited by the cybersecurity firm Trail of Bits.

DAVE uses the WebRTC encoded transform API to encrypt each audio and video frame with a per-sender symmetric key. The Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol handles the group key exchanges. The practical upshot is that only the people on a call can decrypt what is being said, and Discord’s servers simply relay data they cannot read.

The enforcement timeline was gradual. Discord began requiring E2EE-capable clients from 2 March 2026, meaning older app versions that could not support the protocol were cut off from voice and video features entirely. Monday’s announcement confirmed that the rollout is now complete for all users worldwide.

It is worth noting that this protection applies only to voice and video. Text messages on Discord are not end-to-end encrypted, and the company has said it has no plans to change that. Discord has argued that many of its most popular features, including content moderation tools, were built on the assumption that text remains accessible to the platform.

The timing is notable. Discord’s move comes less than a fortnight after Meta officially removed end-to-end encryption from Instagram direct messages on 8 May 2026. Meta justified the decision by saying very few users had opted in to the feature, which had been buried deep in conversation settings since its introduction in late 2023. Critics pointed out that Meta had made the feature nearly impossible to find and then cited low adoption as grounds for killing it.

TikTok, meanwhile, has taken an even more explicit stance against encrypted messaging. The platform, now operating as a US company under the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, confirmed in March 2026 that it would not introduce end-to-end encryption for direct messages. TikTok argued that doing so would prevent law enforcement and safety teams from accessing messages when necessary.

The divergence among major platforms highlights a growing split in the tech industry over user privacy. On one side, Discord and services like WhatsApp and Signal are making encryption the default. On the other, Meta’s Instagram and TikTok are retreating from or refusing to adopt it, often citing child safety and law enforcement cooperation as justifications.

For Discord’s user base, which skews younger and includes large gaming and community-focused audiences, the change is a significant privacy upgrade. Every voice chat in a gaming server, every group call with friends, and every Go Live stream is now shielded from eavesdropping by anyone outside the conversation, including Discord itself.

The open-source nature of the DAVE protocol also sets a precedent. By publishing its whitepaper and client libraries on GitHub, Discord has invited independent scrutiny of its encryption implementation, something not all platforms offering encrypted communications have been willing to do.