By Trendsetter Tribune 
SAN FRANCISCO — In a major retreat following a global user revolt, Discord has officially terminated its partnership with Persona Identities, a verification firm backed by billionaire Peter Thiel. As of Tuesday, February 24, 2026, the platform is scrambling to distance itself from the vendor after security researchers discovered exposed code suggesting the software was built to facilitate mass surveillance by U.S. government agencies.
The move marks a significant blow to Discord’s attempt to roll out mandatory age verification, a project that has been plagued by privacy scandals since its inception earlier this year.
The “Smoking Gun” Code Leak
The controversy exploded when researchers at the independent publication The Rage discovered that Persona had accidentally left an uncompressed version of its frontend code exposed on a U.S. government-authorized server (specifically a withpersona-gov.com endpoint).
- The “269” Checks: The exposed code revealed that Persona performs 269 distinct verification checks beyond simple age assurance.
- Surveillance Ties: The software was found to cross-reference users against global watchlists, “politically exposed persons” (PEPs), and intelligence databases.
- OpenAI Connection: Researchers alleged the system could query identity verification requests on an OpenAI database, creating a “cross-platform” map of user identities for federal agencies.
- Risk Scoring: The system reportedly assigned “risk” and “similarity scores” to users based on “adverse media” categories, including terrorism and espionage.
Discord’s “Damage Control” Response
Faced with a massive exodus of “Nitro” subscribers and a 1.2K-upvoted thread on Reddit’s r/cybersecurity calling the software “literally spyware,” Discord executives moved to kill the project on Tuesday.
| Action Taken | Discord’s Official Stance |
| Termination | Discord confirmed Persona is no longer an active vendor and the “UK Experiment” has ended. |
| Data Deletion | The company claims all data from the month-long trial was deleted “immediately after verification.” |
| Rollback | Plans for a global mandatory ID rollout have been delayed; Discord will now pivot to “automated age determination.” |
| Transparency | The platform has pledged to publish a technical blog post and offer “full transparency” on future vendors. |
The Peter Thiel Factor
The backlash was intensified by Persona’s deep ties to Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Palantir, a data-analytics giant famously contracted by ICE and the CIA.
- The Funding: Thiel’s Founders Fund led Persona’s massive Series C and D funding rounds, totaling $350 million.
- The “Palantir Lite” Allegation: Privacy advocates, including the Open Rights Group, argued that Persona acted as a “front” for Palantir-style surveillance, allowing the government to bypass traditional warrants by using a third-party social media tool.
- CEO Denial: Persona CEO Rick Song and COO Christie Kim have vehemently denied the claims, stating that the government subdomains were “informal codenames” and that the firm has no active federal contracts with agencies like ICE.
A “Grim Default” for Privacy
Despite the termination, the reputational damage to Discord is severe. Many users are pointing to the fact that just one year ago, a different third-party partner was breached, exposing the government IDs of 70,000 Discord users.
“They didn’t cut ties because of a moral epiphany. They cut ties because the customers found the surveillance code. Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets.” — Viral comment on r/technology, Feb 24, 2026
What’s Next for Users?
Discord’s head of product policy, Savannah Badalich, stated the company is “regularly evaluating vendor partners” to find a more privacy-centric path. For now:
- Over 90% of users will reportedly be verified through “automated systems” (likely based on account behavior and metadata) and will not need to scan an ID.
- Parental Controls: New “teen-appropriate” defaults are still expected to roll out in March, but without the Persona-backed biometric requirement.