Access Discord from anywhere

Discord has been blocked or restricted in a growing number of countries. Some governments block it as part of broad internet censorship. Others have targeted Discord specifically after disputes over content moderation and user data.

Russia blocked Discord in October 2024 after the platform refused to remove nearly 1,000 items of content that Russian authorities deemed illegal. The block cut off an estimated 30–40 million Russian users, roughly 4% of Discord's global traffic.1 The ban came alongside Russia's broader push for "digital sovereignty," which has already seen Facebook, Instagram, and other Western platforms blocked since the start of the Ukraine war.¹(#user-content-fn-2)

Turkey blocked Discord at the same time as Russia, in October 2024. Turkish authorities accused the platform of hosting content related to child sexual abuse and of refusing to share IP addresses with investigators. The block followed a high-profile incident in Istanbul that sparked national outrage.²(#user-content-fn-3)

China blocks Discord as part of the Great Firewall's broad restriction on Western communication platforms. Like most foreign messaging and social apps, Discord has been inaccessible in mainland China for years.³(#user-content-fn-4)

Iran blocks Discord along with most Western platforms as part of its extensive internet censorship regime.³(#user-content-fn-4)

United Arab Emirates restricts Discord's voice and video calling features. The UAE bans most VoIP services, so while parts of Discord may load, the communication features that make it useful are blocked.⁴(#user-content-fn-5)

Other countries where Discord is blocked or restricted include:

• Oman (fully blocked)
• North Korea (all Western platforms blocked)
• Jordan (blocked since late 2025)⁵(#user-content-fn-6)

Even in countries where Discord isn't government-blocked, school networks, workplace firewalls, and public Wi-Fi frequently restrict access. Lantern works in these situations too.

What makes Discord different from other blocked platforms

Discord isn't just a chat app. It's where gaming communities organize, open-source projects coordinate, study groups meet, and remote teams collaborate. Losing access to Discord doesn't just cut you off from conversations — it cuts you off from communities you've built.

Unlike platforms where you can switch to an alternative, Discord servers are unique. Your gaming clan, your developer community, your language exchange group — they exist on Discord and nowhere else. That's what makes a Discord block especially disruptive.

Discord blocking also tends to be sudden. Both Russia and Turkey blocked the platform overnight and without warning, leaving millions of users scrambling for a solution.⁶(#user-content-fn-1) Having a reliable circumvention tool already installed is the difference between staying connected and being locked out.

Why Lantern works where other VPNs don't

Most VPNs rely on one or two protocols, usually WireGuard or OpenVPN. These work fine for bypassing basic DNS blocks, but they fail in countries with advanced filtering systems like Russia and China, where deep packet inspection is standard.

Lantern runs more circumvention protocols than any other VPN, including Shadowsocks, VLESS, Hysteria 2, and Trojan. When one protocol gets blocked, Lantern automatically switches to another. No manual configuration, no troubleshooting.

Whether you're accessing Discord from behind the Great Firewall or Russia's expanding internet restrictions, Lantern adapts to whatever's blocking you.

Lantern also uses Smart Routing, which only routes blocked or sensitive traffic through the VPN. Everything else goes direct. Discord loads fast — including voice and video — without slowing down the rest of your connection.

Lantern is built for exactly this

Lantern is a nonprofit VPN, built by a 501(c)(3) and trusted by over 250 million people worldwide. It's been keeping people connected to the open internet since 2013.

It's open source, independently audited, and maintains a strict no-logs policy. Every Pro subscription helps fund free access for people in the most restricted regions.

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. Discord blocked in Russia and Turkey — heise online (October 2024) ↩ ↩

2. Discord blocked in Russia and Turkey — Reuters via heise online (October 2024) ↩ ↩

3. Banned and Blocked: How MENA governments are silencing Generation Z on Discord — Skyline International for Human Rights (2025) ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

4. UAE gamers voice anger as chat app blocked by Etisalat — The National (2018) ↩ ↩

5. How Arab states are seeking to curb Gen Z's digital mobilisation — The New Arab (October 2025) ↩ ↩

6. Discord blocked in Russia and Turkey for spreading illegal content — BleepingComputer (October 2024) ↩ ↩ ↩