So many people are fleeing Discord’s surveillance plans that they’re crashing this upstart alternative platform: ‘There’s simply too many people, but we’re trying our best.’

Discord's recent announcement that it'll require ID verifications and face scans to confirm you're not a kid drove many people away from the platform. As time goes by, more people are seeking alternative ways to communicate with friends, preferably ones that look and feel like Discord itself. One startup platform called Stoat provides exactly that: the UI and vibes of Discord that, well, isn't Discord. However, so many people are now flooding this alternative app that it totally crashed, following days of slowdowns and hitches. As per Stoat's official server status site, "There's simply too many people" trying to log in and register accounts all at the same time. "We're trying our best," the notification reads. The whole ordeal and the sheer number of people who now want nothing to do with Discord have caused "degraded performance" on Stoat. When I was writing up our list of Discord alternatives, I couldn't make a Stoat account for the life of me, as the account verification email refused to come in. Stoat's failing to handle all the Discord users running from surveillance. Screenshot by Destructoid And that was days ago, with interest in Discord replacements only growing since then. I have a feeling Stoat (alongside other platforms of a similar nature) will continue to see connectivity issues in the coming weeks. After all, Discord is a supermassive service with countless users, and if even a fraction of them were to seek out greener pastures, chances are that startup-level servers will buckle. In case you missed it, Discord has announced a plan to introduce mandatory ID verifications or face scans that users would have to perform lest they be stuck with a "teen-by-default" account. This means that, if you refuse to give Discord your valuable personal data, you'd be treated as a kid from that point onward, severely limiting your experience on the platform. The plan is set to be global and to affect every single Discord account, leaving no room for negotiation. This has since driven many users into searching for alternative platforms that offer similar server-oriented services as Discord, such as Stoat, Root, and others. The post So many people are fleeing Discord’s surveillance plans that they’re crashing this upstart alternative platform: ‘There’s simply too many people, but we’re trying our best.’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Feb 16, 2026 - 03:31

So many people are fleeing Discord’s surveillance plans that they’re crashing this upstart alternative platform: ‘There’s simply too many people, but we’re trying our best.’

Discord's recent announcement that it'll require ID verifications and face scans to confirm you're not a kid drove many people away from the platform. As time goes by, more people are seeking alternative ways to communicate with friends, preferably ones that look and feel like Discord itself.

One startup platform called Stoat provides exactly that: the UI and vibes of Discord that, well, isn't Discord. However, so many people are now flooding this alternative app that it totally crashed, following days of slowdowns and hitches.

As per Stoat's official server status site, "There's simply too many people" trying to log in and register accounts all at the same time. "We're trying our best," the notification reads. The whole ordeal and the sheer number of people who now want nothing to do with Discord have caused "degraded performance" on Stoat. When I was writing up our list of Discord alternatives, I couldn't make a Stoat account for the life of me, as the account verification email refused to come in.

Stoat's failing to handle all the Discord users running from surveillance. Screenshot by Destructoid And that was days ago, with interest in Discord replacements only growing since then.

I have a feeling Stoat (alongside other platforms of a similar nature) will continue to see connectivity issues in the coming weeks. After all, Discord is a supermassive service with countless users, and if even a fraction of them were to seek out greener pastures, chances are that startup-level servers will buckle.

In case you missed it, Discord has announced a plan to introduce mandatory ID verifications or face scans that users would have to perform lest they be stuck with a "teen-by-default" account. This means that, if you refuse to give Discord your valuable personal data, you'd be treated as a kid from that point onward, severely limiting your experience on the platform.

The plan is set to be global and to affect every single Discord account, leaving no room for negotiation.

This has since driven many users into searching for alternative platforms that offer similar server-oriented services as Discord, such as Stoat, Root, and others.

The post So many people are fleeing Discord’s surveillance plans that they’re crashing this upstart alternative platform: ‘There’s simply too many people, but we’re trying our best.’ appeared first on Destructoid.

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