How encrypted DMs work

Every direct message and group DM on Discord is end-to-end encrypted, and so are the files you send in them. There's nothing to set up and you can't turn it off.

Your browser encrypts each message before it's sent, and only the browsers of the people in the conversation can decrypt it. The server stores the encrypted message and shows 🔒 Encrypted message in places like search and notifications.

What isn't encrypted

• Messages in server channels.
• Messages sent in a DM before encryption started there.
• Who you talk to and when, reactions, pins and read state.

New browsers

Each browser you sign in with is a device. When you sign in on a new browser, it unlocks your key backup with your password and can read your older messages.

The people who run Discord keep a recovery copy of your backup by default, so you can get your messages back if you forget which browser you used. User Settings, Encryption has stricter options if you'd rather not rely on that.