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Verification

A Discord verification bot that keeps bots out

By ESN Systems, makers of ESN Guardian. Updated November 2, 2026.

Verification is the simplest way to keep spam bots and raid accounts out of your server: new members wait at the door until they prove they are a person. Done badly it annoys real members. Done well, most people barely notice it. Here is how verification works on Discord, the options you have, and how to set it up with ESN Guardian.

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Why verify new members?

Most spam on Discord comes from automated accounts that join through a public invite and post within seconds. If those accounts cannot see or speak in your channels until they pass a check, they are useless to whoever runs them. Verification also slows down human raiders and gives your staff a moment to notice a suspicious wave before it reaches your members.

Discord's built-in options

Discord has some verification on its own. Server Settings → Safety Setup lets you set a verification level, from a verified email (Low) to a verified phone number (Highest). Discord's onboarding and rules screening can make new members accept your rules before talking. These are good starting points, but they do not stop accounts that already have an email and a few minutes of age, which is most raid accounts.

The verification options Guardian gives you

• Verify button. /config verification posts a verify panel. New members press Verify and get access. It is quick for people and stops the dumbest bots.
• Captcha. /captcha adds a short human check (math, image or emoji) to the button. This stops most automated accounts.
• Web verification. /webverify sends members to a short web page where they sign in with Discord. It flags VPN, Tor and datacenter connections and keeps a salted hash of the IP address, not the address itself, so ban evaders and alt farms are easier to spot.
• Rules quiz. The gate can include a few questions about your rules, so members have actually read them before they can talk.
• Alt and bot-farm detection. /alts and /botfarm flag accounts that look linked or mass-produced, so staff can review them.

You can see where people drop off in the gate with /gate funnel, and /gate why explains why a specific member was held. That makes it easy to tune verification so it stops bots without losing real members.

Set it up in five minutes

1. Add Guardian and drag its role above your member roles in Server Settings → Roles.
2. Make a verified role (or let /guardian setup handle it) and remove View Channel from @everyone on the channels new members should not see yet.
3. Post the panel with /config verification in a channel everyone can see, such as #verify or #start-here.
4. Choose the strength. Turn on /captcha for public servers, and add the rules quiz if your rules matter, such as a roleplay or study server.
5. Test it with an alt account. Make sure a new member sees only the verify channel, passes in under a minute, and then sees everything they should.

Tips to keep real members happy

• Explain the gate in one line on the verify panel: "Press Verify to get in, it takes ten seconds."
• Do not stack three checks on a small server. A button plus captcha is enough for most.
• Pair verification with a raid shield. Verification stops bots from talking; the raid shield stops the wave itself. See how to stop Discord raids.
• Keep a human route. Point people who get stuck to a ticket so staff can let them in.

Age tiers for brand-new accounts

Raid and spam accounts are usually days old. Guardian's verification can treat accounts differently by age: established accounts tap once and get in, while brand-new accounts also need a staff member to approve them. Staff see them waiting and approve the ones that look real, so a sudden wave of fresh accounts never reaches your channels on its own. If you run a server where trust matters, like a marketplace or a community for younger members, this is the setting that makes the biggest difference.

Verification compared

Most security bots offer some form of verification. The "Member verification" row in the table below shows what each lists publicly.

Swipe the table sideways to see every bot →

✓ = listed · 💎 = paid tier only · — = not listed on their public pages. Checked Nov 2, 2026. Wick: Wick docs and Wick Premium ⁴ (anti-raid and backups are listed as Premium). RaidProtect: raidprotect.bot and docs. Dyno: FAQ ² (points to its Automod module for anti-nuke/anti-raid) and Premium ³ (billed $49.99/year). NightWatch and Strafe have no public website or docs, so their columns come from their public Discord bot profiles, NightWatch's slash-command list and the log posts each bot made while it ran in our own server. Features change on every bot, so test on a spare server before you switch.

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