The short answer
To file a DMCA takedown on Discord, report the content through Discord's copyright report form, or email its Copyright Agent at copyright@discord.com. Include your contact details, the original work, the exact Discord message or server links, and a good-faith statement under 17 U.S.C. § 512. Discord's Trust & Safety team reviews valid reports and removes the content, usually within a few days.
When to use a DMCA report on Discord
Use it when your photos or videos are being shared in a server, a channel, or a DM without your permission. That covers the common cases: a "mega" server set up to trade one creator's leaked set, a paywalled server reselling your content, or someone dropping your clips into a community. Copyright reporting is the right tool when your actual media is being used. You own that copyright the moment you create the work, so there's nothing to register first. If a server only uses your name or handle but hosts none of your media, that's a different report, not a copyright one.
Step-by-step
- Grab the exact links. On desktop, right-click the offending message and pick "Copy Message Link." On mobile, long-press the message and tap "Copy Message Link." Do this for every infringing message or channel, and copy the server invite if a whole server is the problem. Also save a link to your original work as proof of ownership.
- Open Discord's copyright form. Go to Discord's support site and use the copyright and trademark report form, then select the copyright option. You can also email the Copyright Agent at copyright@discord.com with "DMCA Takedown Request" as the subject, or mail Discord at 444 De Haro Street #200, San Francisco, CA 94107. The process and policy are laid out in Discord's Copyright & IP Policy.
- Fill it out. Include your contact information, what your copyrighted work is, the exact Discord links where it's being used, and the required statements: a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized, and a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and you're the owner or authorized to act for them. Add your signature.
- Submit and keep the confirmation. Discord's Trust & Safety team reviews the report. Valid ones get the content removed and a warning sent to the user. Repeat offenders can be suspended or banned outright.
- If it's ignored or denied, escalate. Recheck that every link was exact and still live. Document repeat patterns from the same server or user. And if the same files are off Discord too, which they almost always are, file with those hosts and de-list the content from Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
The privacy catch on Discord
Here's the part creators miss. When you file, Discord can forward your notice, including your name and contact details, to the server owner or user you reported. Copyright notices can also end up published in public databases. For a creator working under a stage name, that hands your legal identity straight to the people running the leak server. If that's a risk, have a third party file on your behalf under its name instead of submitting it yourself.
Doing this at scale
A leak rarely sits quietly in one Discord server. Discord servers are semi-private and invite-only, so the one holding your set may be invisible to you. The same files turn up on Telegram, on a handful of file hosts, and in Google's results, all at once, and they get re-uploaded the moment a removal lands. Fanlock files under Fanlock's name, so your real identity stays off the paperwork, and we work the surfaces where this content actually spreads: Telegram public and invite-only channels, search de-listing across Google, Bing, and Yahoo, and the piracy sites and file hosts behind the share. We monitor for re-uploads and re-file when content comes back. On the search side, our Pirate-Intent Search does the hunting, typing the same Google queries a leak buyer would so a copy gets caught as it surfaces instead of weeks later. Our Google-side removals run about 97.5%, verifiable in Google's public Transparency Report.
FAQ
What is Discord's copyright form?
It's the copyright and trademark report form on Discord's support site, used to report messages, channels, or servers using your copyrighted content without permission. You can also reach Discord's Copyright Agent by email at copyright@discord.com with the subject "DMCA Takedown Request."
How long does a Discord DMCA takedown take?
Valid reports are usually actioned within a few days. The exact timing depends on volume and how clearly you've identified the content and your ownership.
Will Discord tell the server or user I reported?
It can. Discord may share your notice, including your name and contact details, with the party you reported, and copyright notices can be published publicly. If exposing your legal identity is a concern, file through a service that uses its own name.
How do I remove leaked content from Discord if the report is ignored?
Confirm every link was exact and still live, then resubmit. Document repeat offenders. Since leaked sets almost always live off Discord as well, file with those hosts and de-list the content from search so it stops being findable.
Can I report a whole leak server on Discord?
Yes. Copy the server invite and the links to the infringing messages or channels, then submit them together. A server built around trading one creator's content is exactly what the copyright report is for, as long as it's hosting your actual media.
Let Fanlock handle your Discord takedowns automatically
Filing one notice is easy. Doing it across every repost and re-upload is not. Sign up and Fanlock detects your stolen content on Discord and everywhere else it spreads, files under our name to protect your identity, and re-files when it comes back. Our Google removals run about 97.5%, verifiable in Google's public Transparency Report.
Don't chase a leak across fifty servers
We file under our name (your identity stays private), watch for re-uploads, and clear the same content everywhere else it's spreading, from Telegram to file hosts to Google. Run a free scan to see what's out there. Just a username. No card, no selfie.
About Zander Small
co-founder of Fanlock
Zander Small is a co-founder of Fanlock and the engineer who built its detection and takedown system. He's a creator himself, with a following of around 2 million, and started Fanlock after seeing how hard it is for creators to get stolen content removed and keep it down. He writes about how DMCA enforcement actually works in practice, across search, social, Telegram, and piracy sites. More about the Fanlock team →