// ZDNET — MOBILE & WEB
Your public Discord messages may soon appear in Google search results – how to opt out
Discord announced a new feature that can make your server messages discoverable on Google. Here's how to opt out.
Fresh on the heels of its age verification debacle, Discord, a free and popular instant messaging service, is once again making sweeping changes that affect users’ privacy. Spaces with 1,000+ members, known as Discoverable Servers, will soon be searchable on the web. Your DMs and group chats will stay private, and Discord laid out clear instructions for both server admins and casual users on how to keep your server messages from being shown on the wider web.
Also: My 5 favorite Discord alternatives – no ID verification required
Normally, in order to join a Discord server, you need an invitation link that has been generated by a current admin or member. These links usually have a very short lifespan, expiring after just a few minutes to help protect private groups from bad actors looking to cause trouble. However, for very large Discoverable Servers, Discord has an internal search function called Server Discovery that allows users to join communities without an invite link. The new policy will create a Server Web Page for each of these very large servers, discoverable in search engines like Google or DuckDuckGo, that will show a short description of the server and a summary of conversations in its public channels. New members can join servers directly from their Server Web Pages.
As for what exactly is shared on Server Web Pages, Discord’s related support page says, “From mid-December 2026, answers to questions your members sent in public channels can be found in a web search, in their own words.”
Server Web Pages will begin to go live on Nov. 16, 2026, but server admins have already been given access to tools for opting out entire channels from the program:
Once you’ve accessed the controls, you can either pick which channels will be shown in your community’s Server Web Page (something like a general chat for a content creator’s community server, or a hobby community’s rules page) or opt out of all channels so that only a server description will be visible. And even the server description can be disabled if you’re trying to keep your community as private as possible.
Discord plans to start adding chat summaries and individual example messages in mid-December, and regular users will be able to opt out of having their part of conversations shown.
Along with toggles to opt out of personalized ads and data collection (which I strongly suggest you turn off as well), you’ll see a button to block your message text and data from being used in Server Web Pages. And one toggle will cover permissions in every Discoverable Server that you belong to, so you won’t have to waste time updating your preferences for every community.
Also: Strangers can find your info with a 5-minute search – delete it ASAP