Discord, the popular app that has become the backbone for most gaming communities, has just announced some major changes, and it will involve Discord users having to update their usernames.
As shared on the official Discord blog, users will be prompted to change their usernames to something new without the digits applied to it. Presently, Discord usernames have a set of numbers applied to it, but with new changes coming to the app's infrastructure, this will be phased out entirely. The post elaborates that this change will allow users to have an easier time to "identify and connect with your friends" and that the newly chosen usernames will be unique to the user for Discord.
stupid imo. the reason they're doing this is allegedly bc ppl keep typing numbers wrong or whatever but man
— Aura (@aurahack) May 3, 2023
like my discord is private for a reason! it's my personal chat space! so now i either take my username and ppl can Find Me or i run the risk of someone impersonating me https://t.co/3mMz6xJvTB
The new usernames will allow for names made from characters chosen from the a-z alphabet, numbers 0-9, an underscore (_), and a period. The restrictions for new names must be within 2 to 32 characters long, case insensitive and force lowercase, no specialized characters, no continuous periods, and must adhere to community guidelines. The new username changes will be rolled out over the next weeks, with the app notifying users that they can apply a revised name. The blog post also states that users with older accounts can get a username change quicker than more recent accounts.
The intention is to allow people have names without the need for numbered discriminators (Username#1001, for example). Currently, users can create duplicate names for Discord, but the number applied to the name will show the difference between them. Without the numbers for each username, there will be more importance to securing a username that's clear to your friends and audience.
However, some users online have voiced their concerns with the new change, believing that it will not only make things more confusing for users to find you, but it could potentially run the risk of people losing privacy when using Discord.
This is is another big change that's been coming to popular social media destinations, following updates to Twitter's verification, and Instagram's push for more reels content. The update to Discord is an inevitable change, which means that users will need to apply a new name when prompted or by initiating the change manually in the settings menu when the full rollout begins. We'll follow along with the changes as they begin and keep watch of other changes happening to Discord.
Alessandro Fillari is a freelance writer at IGN.
