Discord messages: How to stop messages from appearing in Google Search

It appears that Discord has some users spooked.On Tuesday, Mashable reported on Discord's upcoming changes to its platform, which will see tens of thousands of public servers get indexed on Google Search, along with some of the messages in the servers' channels. That means some Discord conversations may soon appear in Google Search results, similar to how Reddit threads and comments can surface in Google.The reason for the change is to make Discord's public Discoverable Servers, well, more discoverable, helping those communities grow. However, some Discord users who value the privacy aspects of the platform are concerned about this change. Until Discord made this change, the only way to see messages in a server, regardless of whether it was public or private, was to sign up for Discord and join the specific server. Looking to delete your Discord message history so that it's not included in Google Search? You don't have to do that. Discord is providing users with a simple way to opt out of their messages being searchable.Also, if you did want to delete all your Discord messages, you'd have to go through the servers and delete each and every one of your messages individually. Even deleting your Discord account won't remove your past messages. Mashable Light Speed How to remove your Discord messages from Google Discord users can go to their User Settings > Data and Privacy and change their Channel Messages settings. This will ensure that your Discord messages cannot be seen on publicly accessible Server Web Pages that are indexed by search engines. Discord may still use the content of users' messages for Channel Summaries on Server Web Pages. However, those summaries will not be connected to specific users, and usernames and avatars won't be shown next to messages on these public Server Web Pages.How to remove your public Discord server from Google If you're a server admin, you can also opt your server out of Google Search indexing. Admins can go to Server Settings > Web Presence on their public server and choose which channels to make searchable. Admins can change these settings to opt out of every one of their server's channels. If an admin does not opt out, though, all public channels will be added to the Server Web Page when it goes live next month. Admins can also choose to turn off channel summaries on their Server Web Page. In order to ensure a Server Web Page isn't created for their server, admins must make these changes by Nov. 16, 2026. If you're worried about your private server or private messages, there's no need to be. These changes do not affect those servers and messages. They remain completely private and excluded from search engines. Private servers also continue to require an invite to join.Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters or get Mashable push alerts today.