Discord has evolved from a simple chatroom with voice chat capabilities into the go-to communication platform for gamers, gaming communities, and organizations. However, as the platform has grown, it has also made several controversial changes over the years. One recent change has left some users feeling uncomfortable: since September, Discord now tracks not only the games your friends are playing but also how long they’ve been playing each game and how often they’ve played over the past 30 days.
For instance, you might see that one of your contacts has been playing Call of Duty for 13 days in a row, or that another has spent over 100 hours in World of Warcraft, with an additional marathon badge to emphasize the commitment. You can even react to these in-game activity displays with emojis, directly interacting with the tiles showing your friends’ activity.
But the real issue for many users is that these details can be viewed even when a contact is offline, allowing others to see exactly when and how long you’ve been gaming, potentially creating uncomfortable situations. For example, if you cancel plans to play solo, your friends might notice you’re online and playing alone, which could lead to awkward confrontations or hurt feelings. Or, if you’re playing a game in beta or something personal you don’t want others to know about, the new feature could unintentionally expose this information.
Fortunately, Discord does give users the option to disable this feature. If you prefer to keep your gaming habits private, follow these steps: go to Settings, then navigate to the Privacy and security section. Under Activity status, you can turn off the new tracking feature, ensuring your gameplay details stay private.
