The dark side of Discord for teens

When a mother in Washington state learned her teenage daughter was on Discord, a popular social media platform, she felt reasonably comfortable with the idea of her using it to communicate with members of her high school marching band.

But in September, the mother discovered the 16-year-old was also using the audio and chat service to message with someone who appeared from his profile picture to be an older man. The stranger, who said he lived in England, entered a group chat that included her daughter and members of the band, according to the mother. They struck up a friendship in a private thread. He asked for nude pictures; her daughter obliged.

"I went through every chat they ever had but the most disturbing thing, beyond the nudes, was that he asked her to send a picture of our house," said the mother, who, like other parents of young Discord users, asked to remain anonymous, citing concerns about their family's privacy. "My daughter went on Zillow, found our home and sent it, so he knew where she lives. He then asked what American school buses looked like, so she took a photo of her bus and sent it." He then requested pictures of her friends, and she sent those, too.