Discord voice and video calls are now end-to-end encrypted by default

Discord says it has enabled end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for every voice and video call by default across its platforms, including desktop, mobile, web, and consoles like PlayStation and Xbox.

The rollout covers DMs, Group DMs, Voice Channels and Go Live streams. No opt-in is required and no settings to change. Stage channels are the only exception, as they are designed to broadcast to a wider audience rather than for personal discussions.

The protection runs on DAVE, an open-source Discord protocol first introduced in September 2024. In a blog post, Discord’s Mark Smith said building it was slow and complicated, in part because a single Discord call can mix people across phones, laptops, browsers, and gaming consoles in the same conversation. In announcing the change, Smith said:

“Building an E2EE protocol that works seamlessly on all of these surfaces simultaneously is, to my knowledge, unlike anything that has been delivered. DAVE is probably one of the most diverse E2EE voice and video implementations on the Internet.”

Discord says it is now removing remaining client code that allowed for an unencrypted fallback, so that encrypted calls are the only option rather than the default. “We have no current plans to extend E2EE to text messages,” Smith added.

The completed rollout stands in stark contrast to policy changes from Meta, which recently removed its encryption feature for Instagram DMs.