What Is The Discord App, and How Do You Use It?

February 29, 2024

A Statista report shows that in January 2023, Discord had approximately 563 million users, 87% up from 300 million in June 2020. These numbers might drop your jaw when most other social media applications are imploding. 

This app was originally developed for gamers, and communities are dedicated to gaming platforms. But this application has grown outside gaming and into music, culture, AI, art, finance, dating, etc.

You can use it for texting, voice calls, or video calls with friends or someone who shares common interests.

What is Discord?

Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app and platform. Discord allows users to create servers, which are private spaces for groups to chat, share media, and interact. Servers have different text and voice channels for discussions.

It serves communities ranging from gaming and arts to school clubs and niche interest groups. This app offers robust, stable communication on browsers, stand-on desktops, and mobile apps.

Here are the following features of the application.

• Text chat
• Audio and video chat (group and private)
• Private text messaging
• News feeds
• Links and Media sharing
• Generative AI for images
• You are streaming and screen sharing.

Discord brings friends and communities together to bond over shared interests and activities. Users can join this platform for gaming, social, and professional hobbies and connect with like-minded people.

It stands out from traditional chat apps because of its focus on real-time communication and its welcoming space for a diverse user base.

Features of Discord: 

Here are some of the valuable features Discord offers.

1. Clips:

If you ever find that while streaming an app to your friend, you can watch it later or share it. It is possible with clips.

The default combination for making clips is ALT+C, and you can change the combination by tapping on the keyboard icon.

This is an experimental feature available on a limited number of users and servers. Clips can only be stored on the local machine.

2. Remix:

When conversing with friends on Discord, you may likely encounter funny images worth meme creation. Now, you can transform these images into your own unique memes with the Remix feature. Remix allows you to edit any image shared on Discord directly by layering text, hand-drawn doodles, emojis, and stickers on top. 

The big range of stickers and emoji options allows you to customize the image you want. Once you have completed your masterpiece, you can directly share it on the Discord channel for everyone to enjoy. The seamless editing and sharing provided by Remix makes Discord the ultimate meme creation playground.

3. Video Codec:

The better the codec technology, the higher the video stream’s quality, even at low bandwidths. You use Video Codec while streaming your favorite game with your friends or watching your friends play their favorite game. A video codec is a software or hardware that helps to compress and decompress digital video for transmission over the Internet. Codecs are essential for streaming high-quality videos. They can reduce the file size through compression while retaining much visual information. 

4. Age Restrictions: 

You can use age-restricted commands within age-restricted channels. Age-restricted commands contain mature content and are labeled as 18+ by their developers to comply with Discord’s safety policies.

These commands may include adult language, violence, or sexual material that is inappropriate for minors. It prevents underage users from accidentally accessing mature content. Server admins also have the ability to block specific bots or commands they deem unsuitable. 

The age restriction mechanisms and content moderation policies aim to maintain a safe community for all ages within Discord’s platform. 

5. Video Calls: 

Video calls are a convenient way to stay connected. You can access them from within your DMs or server voice channels where you usually hang out together. Simply hop into a voice channel or DM and start chatting over video.

Here are the following things that you can do in video chatting

1. Perform video chat only

2. Screen share

3. Sharing screen chat and video chat simultaneously.

4. Doing nothing and just chatting on voice and with others.

Go Live and Screen Share: With Go Live and Screen Share, you can easily share your screen or any application window during a server or voice call. Up to 50 people can share their video or screen simultaneously in a voice channel.

How Can You Share The Screen With Go Live?

Step 1: Join a voice channel in your server where you have permission to screen share.

Step 2: Then, click on the Screen streaming icon located in the voice status panel (near the bottom left corner) to open a new window. To share your stream, choose either an individual application window or an entire screen.

Step 3: If you select a window, make sure it is the one you want to share. When you are ready to share, tap the ‘Go Live’ button located at the bottom of the window.

6. Game Invites: 

Discord’s integrated gaming features allow you to spectate or join your friend’s gameplay session if the game allows it. There are a couple of ways to do this right within Discord.

You can do this via a friend’s profile page. You can click to view their current game activity and request to spectate or join the party, or you can also do this via a Game Invite link. The platform brings all the social elements together in one place for a fun and interactive gaming experience.

7. Server Discovery: 

The Server Directory feature allows you to find new communities with ease. Press the Compass icon to access the Server Discovery; when you press that icon on the left sidebar then, you will be redirected to the Server Discovery page, which allows you to browse by the categories.

If you are unsure of the kind of communities to join, you can navigate to the most popular community servers on Discord.

The currently available servers on Discord are related to:

• Gaming
• Music
• Education
• Science & Tech
• Entertainment
• Student Hubs

What Is Discord Used For?

The simple answer to this question is to communicate. Anyone can create a server for many reasons. You can use this to make friends while running the game, use voice messages to plan things, or even make silly voices. Gamers and developers often use it to share game goodies with their communities. You can also join servers to view, share, and generate AI-based generative AI apps and even get access to games.

Discord is designed to bring people together around common interests and facilitate real-time communication. Some of the key uses of Discord include

1. Gaming: Discord is hugely popular among gamers as a way to connect and chat while playing. Gamers can join servers for specific games to find teammates, discuss strategies, and hang out.

2. Communities: Groups and communities of all kinds form Discord servers to have ongoing conversations. Servers exist for artists, students, content creators, sports fans, music lovers, and more.

3. Friends: Friends can create private Discord servers to chat, hop on voice/video calls, and share media. It’s a convenient way for friend groups to stay in touch.

4. Businesses – Some companies use Discord internally for communication and team collaboration. Many also create servers as a way to engage with customers.

5. Events: Discord servers can be created for conferences, online events, meetups, and other occasions to allow attendees to interact.

6. Networking: Discord can facilitate networking by connecting professionals and linking people within industries.

Discord brings people together, fosters community, enables real-time connection around shared interests, and enhances communication and collaboration. Its flexibility allows it to meet a wide range of social and practical needs.

How Can I Use Discord And Its Servers?

Each channel on Discord is known as a server, and these servers act as invidious hubs that split into two: Text Channels and voice channels.

Step 1:

To join a server, you need an invite link, and all you have to do is select the search icon on the left sidebar and select the server.

Click on the plus icon in the left sidebar.

Step 2:

Press joins a server

Step 3:

Paste the invite link and hit the join button.

Discord has both private and public servers. Private servers are meant for hanging out with friends, and they may also work for any kind of secret communication. Public servers also have their place, and Public Discord servers let people who share interests chat together and build a community. You can create customer emotes, and moderators can ban users who create problems. In fact, game developers often interact with users on verified Discord servers dedicated to their titles.

Although this application also offers video features, it does not compete with Twitch and other live-streaming platforms. You can also interact with other fans while watching online streaming.

Stay Secure By Using 2FA

If security is a prime concern for you while creating a discord account, opt for two-factor authentication. It will give you an extra layer of security and make it difficult for hackers to get into your account.

Before you get started with the app, you need to download the authenticator app. Google Authenticator and Authy are the recommended apps.

After completing the task, open Discord. Click on the Settings icon, which is a small cogwheel located at the bottom of the window. In the left-hand pane, select My Account, and then click on Enable Two-Factor Authentication in the ‘Password and Authentication’ group.

Conclusion

Discord is a valuable tool for communicating and, most importantly, making new friends. Each server offers a unique experience and a chance to connect with others who share similar interests. It is a place where you can exchange ideas and make laughter in the virtual world. Happy chatting.