Spyware Level: EXTREMELY HIGH
Discord is spyware because it collects all information that passes through its communication platform. As Discord is a centralized communication platform, all communications have to go through Discord's official servers, where all of that information can potentially be recorded. The vast majority of said information has been confirmed to be recorded, such as all communications between users. Discord has also been confirmed to use other spyware features such as various forms of telemetry. Discord's main source of income is from investment, from which it has received over $279.3 million dollars[4]. Discord cannot be built from source and the source code for Discord is unavailable.
Discord does not make its source code available
It is impossible to download and examine Discord's source code, which means that it is impossible to prove that Discord is not spyware. Any program which does not make its source code available is potential spyware.
Discord confirms that it collects large amounts of sensitive user data
Discord explicitly confirms in its privacy policy[1] that it collects the following information:
- IP Address
- Device UUID
- User's e-mail address
- All text messages
- All images
- All VOIP data (voice chat)
- Open rates for e-mail sent by Discord
Discord does not explictly confirm that it collects this information, but still collects it:
- Logs of all of the other programs that are open on your computer
The implications of this information can be broken down like this: By recording your IP address, Discord can track your general location (about as precise as which county you are in). Discord can also tell which devices you use, as it uniquely identifies each device, and how much you use those devices, as it can record your device usage habits (since Discord is usually open in the background so that it can receive messages). Discord also records every single interaction you have with other users through its service. This means that Discord is confirmed to log every conversation that you have through Discord, and record everything that you say on Discord, and view all images that you send through Discord. Therefore, none of your interactions on Discord are private. Discord's privacy policy also contains several occurrences of phrases such as "including but not limited to," which is an explicit confirmation that Discord contains more spyware features that are not disclosed to the user.
Discord contains features which allow integration with other spyware platforms
Discord contains the opt-in spyware feature known as "social media integration." This allows you to sync your persistent user identity on Discord with your persistent user identity on other spyware platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. In its privacy policy[1], Discord has confirmed that if you opt in to this spyware feature, Discord will obtain an undisclosed amount of access to information obtained about you by the spyware platforms that you choose to sync with.
Discord contains a process logger
Discord has been confirmed to monitor the open processes on your operating system. This is a spyware feature known as a "process logger" that is generally used to record your program usage habits. This was confirmed by the CTO of Discord in a Reddit thread.[2] In the same thread, the CTO also confirms that this spyware feature is mandatory and cannot be turned off. The CTO and a Discord engineer go on to claim that Discord does not use the process logger to send records of the open processes on the user's computer; however, this is not verifiable as the truth. What we do know is that Discord contains a process logger and sends encrypted packets to its master servers, meaning that it is impossible to prove that Discord is not sharing the information collected by its process logger. This shouldn't be able to happen on the web browser client for Discord.
Discord tries to force some users to give their Telephone numbers
Discord will lock users out of it's service and will not allow them to continue using it without giving their phone number or contacting Discord support. This kind of feature is designed to extract very personal information out of it's users (phone numbers). The criteria for locking out users isn't known.
Discord's main source of investment comes from it's data collection potential
Discord has exclusively relied on the information that it collects from users to generate investment without any user monetization for the first three years of operation (5/13/2015 to 1/23/2017). This means that its main financial incentive is to collect user data, with other sources of income being secondary. Discord managed to sustain 4.2 million concurrent users on its network[3] without any income other than investments. This because it gets almost all of its money from investment, which is driven by its potential as a data mining (spyware) platform. Discord has raised $279.3 million dollars in investment[4] since 2012. Discord has 130 million users[7], which means that it can collect an immense amount of data using its spyware platform.
Discord will have a strong incentive to sell user information after investments stop
It's unknown whether Discord currently is or isn't selling user information. Currently Discord has been able to consistently raise new invesment capital, which is at a level where it could reasonably be covering all of its operating costs. However, Discord, like any other company, is not going to exist in a constant state of increased investments. When Discord has to transition away from an investment-financed business model to a revenue model that exclusively relies on generating revenue from the users of the platform. When Discord stops receiving new investments, and investors want a return on their investments, Discord is going to have a very strong incentive to sell user information.
This is the most reliable potential revenue source for Discord- in that, no matter what happens with their other revenue sources, Discord will awalys be able to sell the information of it's users. It has 130 million users[7], and all of the infrastructure already exists to sell their information. It's not something that may or may not work- it's not known whether or not Discord is already selling user information, but if they weren't already, and decided too, this model would definitely work since it relies on already existing users and information that Discord already has. If Discord gets into financial trouble, and the other revenue sources don't generate enough revenue, Discord will probably have too begin selling user information if it isn't already.
Discord is going to need too generate a larger amount of revenue than merely its operating costs as a company, because it needs to pay back it's investors. Remember, Discord has raised $279.3 million dollars[4]. This is all money that it needs to pay back several times over. This is why Discord's attempts at alternate sources of revenue, like Discord Nitro[5] and the Discord Games Store, probably wont be enough to meet this obligation. There isn't really any information on how much money Discord is making from either of these, there's only speculation because this isn't public information.
Discord receives government requests for your information
Discord has confirmed in an email correspondence[6] that it does receive government requests for information. So, we know that the government potentially has access to all of the information that Discord collects about you. You can read a copy of the email image posted in the source here in case the link there dies.
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