Your Discord account ID is a permanent number, usually 17 to 19 digits long, that identifies your account even when your username or display name changes. To copy it, turn on Developer Mode in Settings, then right-click your name on desktop (or tap your profile and the three dots on mobile) and choose Copy User ID; the same switch also unlocks server, channel and message IDs.
We checked this against Discord's Help Center articles on finding User, Server and Message IDs and on finding user IDs for law enforcement, the Server Member Applications and Hacked Account articles, and Discord's developer documentation on snowflake IDs, in November 2026.
What a Discord Account ID Is
Every user on Discord gets a numeric user identification number when the account is created. Discord's guide for law enforcement describes it as a unique number, typically 17 to 19 digits, that cannot be changed. That makes it different from everything else on your profile.
- Display name: not unique, can include spaces and emoji, and can be changed at any time.
- Server nickname: only applies inside one server.
- Username: unique at any given moment, but you can change it, and Discord changes usernames once an account is deleted.
- User ID: unique across Discord and fixed for the life of the account.
Discord's developer documentation explains why the number is so long. IDs use a "snowflake" format of up to 64 bits, and the first part of every snowflake is a timestamp counting milliseconds from the Discord Epoch, which is the first second of 2015. In practice, that means the ID quietly records when the account was created. Our existing guide to finding your Discord account creation date shows how that conversion works, and it is the reason age shows up so often when people talk about what a Discord account is worth.
Servers, channels and messages have snowflake IDs too, so the same number format appears everywhere in Discord, from a server's settings to the link you copy for a single message.
How to Turn On Developer Mode
The Copy ID options are hidden until Developer Mode is enabled. It does not change how Discord works for you; it only adds those menu items.
On desktop or in the browser:
- Click the cogwheel in the bottom left corner to open User Settings.
- Go to Advanced in the sidebar.
- Turn on the Developer Mode toggle. A checkmark means it is on.
Discord's law enforcement article describes the same toggle under a section called Developer in the settings sidebar, so if you do not see Advanced in your version of the app, look for Developer instead.
On iPhone or Android:
- Tap your avatar in the bottom right corner.
- Tap the cogwheel in the top right corner.
- Scroll down to App Settings and tap Advanced.
- Turn on Developer Mode.
If you use both the phone app and the desktop app, check the toggle in each one, since the menu paths are different and it is easy to assume it is on when it is not.
Copying Your Own ID and Someone Else's
With Developer Mode on, copying an account ID takes two clicks. You can do it from a server member list, a group chat or a direct message.
- Desktop: right-click the user, either on their name in a chat or on their avatar, and select Copy User ID. To get your own, right-click your own name in any chat or member list.
- Mobile: tap the user, tap the ellipsis in the top right corner of their profile, and tap Copy User ID. Discord's law enforcement guide describes a slightly different menu on some builds, where you tap Copy User Info and then Copy User ID.
The number lands on your clipboard, ready to paste into a support ticket, a bot command or a moderation log. It is worth pasting it somewhere you can see it and checking the length; a short or truncated number usually means something else was copied.
If you manage more than one account, copying the ID from your own profile is also the most reliable way to confirm which account you are signed in to. Our guide on switching Discord accounts on mobile and desktop covers that setup.
Server, Channel and Message IDs
The same Developer Mode switch unlocks IDs for the rest of Discord. Discord's Help Center gives these steps:
- Server ID: on desktop, right-click the server icon and choose Copy Server ID. On mobile, tap the server name, scroll down and tap Copy Server ID.
- Channel ID: on desktop, right-click the channel and choose Copy Channel ID. On mobile, long-press the channel, scroll down and tap Copy Channel ID.
- Message link: on desktop, right-click the message and choose Copy Message Link. On mobile, long-press the message and pick Copy Message Link.
A message link lets anyone who already has access to that channel jump straight to the message, which makes it the best way to point a moderator at a specific post. A channel ID has a neat use as well: typing it inside angle brackets with a pound sign, in the form <#channelid>, turns it into a clickable channel mention.
The same steps work in group messages, so you can copy the ID of a group chat or a message inside one.
Most mix-ups come from copying the wrong kind of number. A few checks help:
- User versus server. Right-clicking a person gives a user ID; right-clicking the round icon in the server list gives a server ID. Both are long numbers, so label them when you paste them into a ticket.
- Link versus ID. Copy Message Link produces a full web address that contains the server, channel and message numbers in sequence. If someone asks specifically for a message ID, the last number in that link is the one they want.
- Old tags. If you only know someone by an old name with four digits after a pound sign, Discord's law enforcement article notes it still accepts legacy usernames with the discriminator for lookup, but a user ID is always clearer.
When You Actually Need an ID
Discord's own Help Center points out that you can use Discord without ever knowing an ID number. They become useful in a few specific situations:
- Support tickets. Discord Support may ask for an ID to identify the right account, server or message, especially since usernames can change between the time something happened and the time you write in.
- Reporting abuse. In-app reports already attach the message, but if you are writing up a pattern of behavior for a server's moderators, user IDs and message links remove any doubt about who did what. Our guide to a Discord account flagged for spam explains how spam reports feed Discord's detection systems.
- Legal requests. Discord says the user ID is the most preferred identifier for law enforcement, because usernames without a discriminator, IP addresses and nicknames are not enough on their own to identify an account.
- Bots and moderation tools. Many moderation bots take a user ID for bans or role changes, because it still works after the person changes their name.
- Reviewing new members. Server staff using Discord's member applications can see when an applicant joined Discord, which is the same information the ID encodes. Our explainer on why a server says your account is too new covers how communities use that.
Privacy: Why You Should Skip ID Lookup Sites
A user ID on its own is not a password, and sharing your ID with a server's moderators or with Discord Support is normal. The risk comes from the tools that grew up around IDs. Searching this topic turns up "ID finder" and "account lookup" sites, and they deserve caution.
Anything genuinely public about an account, such as its avatar, username, badges and creation date, is already visible on its profile or derivable from the ID by the formula in Discord's documentation. A site that offers more than that is either guessing, scraping data people did not mean to publish, or asking you to hand something over. Do not paste other people's IDs into such tools to dig up information about them, and never log in to a third-party site with your Discord credentials to "look up" an account.
The bigger danger is any tool that asks for your account token. Discord states plainly that it will never ask for your password or token, and its hacked-account guidance says to remove unfamiliar entries under Authorized Apps in User Settings. If you have connected an ID tool you no longer trust, deauthorize it there and change your password.
Checking an Account Before You Trust It
IDs come up a lot when people evaluate older accounts, since the number reveals when an account was made. The store's Discord hub lists accounts from marketplace sellers, with the selection changing daily. If you browse it, keep in mind that Discord's Terms of Service state that users agree not to sell, transfer, license or lend their account or username unless Discord gives prior written approval. An ID can confirm an account's age, but it cannot tell you anything about how the account was used before.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many digits is a Discord user ID?
Discord says user IDs are typically 17 to 19 digits long. Older accounts tend to have shorter numbers because the ID starts with a timestamp.
Can I change my Discord account ID?
No. The user ID is assigned at creation and cannot be changed, even if you change your username or display name.
Why don't I see Copy User ID?
Developer Mode is off. Turn it on under User Settings, Advanced on desktop, or Settings, App Settings, Advanced on mobile.
Can someone find my account with just my ID?
An ID identifies an account, but it does not reveal your email, password or private messages. Only share it with people who need it, such as moderators or Discord Support.
Is a Discord ID the same as a username?
No. The username is a changeable handle, while the ID is a fixed number Discord uses behind the scenes.
How do I find a server ID on mobile?
With Developer Mode on, tap the server name, scroll down and tap Copy Server ID.