Discord, one of today’s most popular instant messaging and VoIP social platforms for gamers, will begin showing ads next week as part of a new plan for boosting revenue, The Wall Street Journal has learned. It was only a few years ago that Jason Citron, Discord’s CEO, told reporters that Discord wouldn’t lean toward a traditional ad model, describing them as being “too intrusive,” and how the platform’s ad-free nature made it more “comfortable and safe.”
Citron said in 2021:
- “We believe that people’s data is their data and that people should feel comfortable and safe to have conversations and that their data is not going to be used against them in any way that is is improper.”
- “We take privacy very seriously. We do not scan peoples’ messages. We do not read them. However, Discord does not have end-to-end encryption. So if you break our community guidelines, we will go investigate.”
- “…if we do find that you are doing that, we will ban you, so that we take privacy very seriously. But we also have a trade-off where we also take safety very seriously.”
The WSJ reported:
The paid promotions are from videogame makers and will offer users gifts for completing in-game tasks while their friends watch on Discord. Discord is looking to hire more than a dozen people for ad-sales positions, according to people familiar with its plans. Discord said users will be able to turn off the ads in their settings.
The company has long relied on its Nitro subscription service, which offers the ability to upload large files and other perks, to boost revenue since its introduction in 2016. Prices range from $2.99 to $9.99 a month.