in

Is Discord a Spyware? : What You Need to Know

Image Source

Discord has been quite popular. Now, the platform is plagued by controversy. Is discord spyware? That has been a commonly asked question about Discord.

Discord Explained

Image Source

Discord is the group-chatting software that has been built and designed for players. However, as it grows, Discord became open for general use involving all forms of communities. The platform is segregated into servers. Each service comes with its topics, channels, rules, and members. 

Likewise, Discord allows users to voice-chat and voice. They can also do live stream games or any other program right through their computers. 

The Dark Side of Discord

Discord is fun to use, but it poses a threat to users. Experts say Discord is spyware as it gathers all the information that goes through its proprietary communication platform. While Discord is the centralized communication platform, every communication has to pass through the official servers of the platform in which the information can be recorded. 

The majority of the information was verified to be saved, like the communications between the users. Discord was also found to use other spyware features like different types of telemetry. The key income source of this platform is from the investments from where the company got more than 279 million dollars. 

A recent malware entered Discord, according to experts. This malware can steal email addresses, phone numbers, usernames and passwords, IP addresses, and many more. The malware that affects this chat app is known as the Spidey Bot. 

Apart from stealing personal information, this malware can also copy the initial fifty characters from the Windows clipboard that can be case-sensitive details as well as passwords. It can also create backdoors for other malware to enter. Mac users are less likely to be targeted by the said malware. 

Experts speculated the malware travels through the chats, making itself look like cheats for the games, not a kind of malicious software. These files, Synapse X.exe and Blueface Reward Claimer.exe, are said to be the latest malware found in Discord. While it seems to be difficult to tell whether you have the malware on your device or not, it is best to uninstall and reinstall Discord to make sure the malware files are removed. 

Is Discord a Spyware?

Discord doesn’t make the source code accessible for users. Meaning, it’s unbearable to download and examine the source code of Discord. In that case, it is impossible for anyone to detect, confirm, and answer the question: “Is Discord a spyware?”. Note that any program that is not making the source code it uses available for the public is potentially spyware.

Moreover, Discord also said the platform is collecting sensitive or confidential user data. The platform openly verifies that in the privacy policy of its website, stating that it gathers the following:

  • User’s IP address
  • Email address
  • UUID of the device
  • Text messages
  • Images
  • VoIP data or voice chat
  • Email open rates provided by Discord

Discord doesn’t clearly confirm it gathers logs of other programs ran by your computer. However, the platform still obtains it by default. You can break down the implications of the information this way: by copying your IP address, Discord will be able to trace your location in general (particularly, the country where you are located). 

Likewise, the platform can tell the devices you use as it can identify every device and how often you use them because Discord can record your usage habits. Discord can do that because it is often open and running in the background, allowing it to receive messages. 

Also, Discord can record each interaction that you have together with other users via its service. It means the platform clearly logs each conversation you have via Discord and will recording anything you say through the platform. It can also view the images you sent through the platform. In short, none of the interactions you have stay private. 

The privacy policy of Discord also comes with repetitions of phrases like “to name a few,” which clearly confirms that Discord has several spyware features that the company did not disclose to users. 

Moreover, the platform has features that enable integration together with another spyware platform. It has an opt-in spyware feature called social media incorporation that allows users to sync their constant user identity in Discord with their constant user identity in another spyware platform like Twitter and Facebook. 

In the privacy policy on its website, Discord verified that when you opt in to the mentioned spyware feature, the platform will get wide access to your details by those spyware platforms synced with Discord. 

Conclusion

Discord is a useful platform for gamers. It’s almost a great offer only if it is not running as spyware. That’s why gamers are encouraged to turn to their competitors for their peace of mind. Is discord a spyware? The answer is clearly, yes. 

What is Bytefence Anti Malware?

Understanding Instagram’s Privacy Policy