Discord Explicit Content Filter: Settings and Defaults
The Discord explicit content filter is now called sensitive content filters. Where to change it, what blur, block and show do, and the server setting.
Published October 18, 2026
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The Discord explicit content filter is now called sensitive content filters, and you change it in User Settings, then Content & Social. Adults can set it to show, blur or block flagged images and videos. Teens get default settings they cannot change to show.
Server owners have a separate setting, the explicit image filter. Both are below, with the defaults and the limits.
How the Discord explicit content filter works
Discord's sensitive content filters scan images and videos with automated systems. There are two filters: Mature Sexual Media, which looks for sexually explicit or suggestive material involving adults, and Graphic Media, which looks for violent or disturbing visuals. Each has its own controls.
Flagged media is blurred with a "May contain sensitive content" label, or hidden if blocked. If only one of several images in a message is flagged, only that one is blurred.
What the filter does not catch
The filters apply to images and videos only. Discord says they do not scan text messages, voice or calls, and that no automated system is perfect, so some content you would call explicit or graphic can get through.
If something should have been blocked, select Report Message on it. Discord uses reports to improve the filters.
How to change the sensitive content filter on Discord
Open User Settings, choose Content & Social, and find the sensitive media section. Discord's help page gives that path for adjusting the filters. If the desktop app will not open, see Discord stuck on starting.
- Open User Settings.
- Select Content & Social.
- Find the Mature Sexual Media and Graphic Media settings.
- Pick show, blur or block for direct messages from friends, direct messages from others and messages in server channels.
Your region can change both the defaults and what you are allowed to change, according to Discord's filter page.
Blur, block and show: defaults by age group
Blur hides the media behind a cover that adults can press the eye icon to reveal. Block keeps it out of your Discord experience. Show displays it. Adults can pick any option; Discord says you must be in the adult age group to unblur flagged media or change a default to show.
| Where | Adult default | Teen default |
|---|---|---|
| DMs from friends | Show | Blur |
| DMs from others | Block | Block |
| Server channels | Show | Blur |
In servers, adults can only choose show or blur; blocking is controlled by each server's own safety settings. Check your age group under User Settings, then Account Status. If it is wrong or unconfirmed, Discord's page says you can confirm it.
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How to turn off sensitive content on Discord
If you are an adult, set each of the three places (friends' DMs, other DMs, server channels) to show, and your own filter will stop blurring or blocking there.
Teens cannot turn the filters off: Discord says sensitive content is filtered by default for them. If a setting will not change, check Account Status first. In servers, blocking can still come from the server's own explicit image filter.
The server explicit image filter
Server owners can automatically block messages that may contain explicit images in any channel that is not age-restricted. The setting is in Server Settings, under Moderation, then Safety Setup, in the Explicit image filter section, according to Discord. Owners who want to be listed in Discord's Discover tab should also see Discord Server Discovery.
You can apply it to every member or only to members with no assigned role, or turn it off. Age-restricted channels are exempt.
Age-restricted channels and servers
Discord's Community Guidelines say server owners must apply an age-restricted label to channels with sexually explicit content involving adults, and that sexually explicit content may not go anywhere that cannot be age-restricted, such as avatars, bios, server banners and icons, invite splashes, emoji and stickers.
A server organized around 18+ themes, or with mostly 18+ content, must be age-restricted as a whole. Owners or admins aged 18 or older with Manage Server can set this under Server Settings, then Access. Per Discord's help page, teens aged 13 to 17 cannot join or view those servers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I access 18+ content on Discord?
Be in the adult age group, then join an age-restricted server or open an age-restricted channel. Where regional rules apply you may have to complete age assurance first. On iOS, adults must also turn on "Allow access to age-restricted content on iOS" under Messaging Permissions in desktop User Settings, per Discord.
What is the Discord DM spam filter?
It is separate from the sensitive content filters. It sends direct messages that may be spam to a spam inbox, and by default it filters DMs from non-friends. In User Settings, Content & Social, you can choose to filter all direct messages or turn it off.
If I change the setting, does it affect old images?
Switching to show or blur applies to media you already received as well as new media. Switching to block only affects flagged media that arrives afterward, per Discord's filter page, so older flagged images are not removed from your history.
What if Discord blurs an image that is fine?
Adults can right-click or long-press the media and choose Mark as Not Sensitive, then confirm. Discord forwards it to its team to improve detection. To just view a blurred image, adults can press the eye icon, and press it again to re-blur.
Sources
- Discord Support, Discord Sensitive Content Filters
- Discord Support, Safer Messaging on Discord
- Discord Support, What are Age-Restricted Servers on Discord?
- Discord Support, How to Access an Age-Restricted Server FAQ
- Discord, Community Guidelines
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