Discord’s new feature feels like spying. Here’s how to disable it [Video]

Discord started off as just a chatroom with voice chat features, but it has since grown into the de facto communication and community building tool for gamers, games, and organizations. The company has made plenty of missteps since Discord first debuted almost a decade ago, with some more egregious than others.

Here’s one recent change that some gamers may find unpleasant: As of September, your list of Discord contacts will no longer just show what games your friends are playing, but also how long they’ve been playing each game and how often they’ve played in the last 30 days.

Related: The beginner’s guide to using Discord

The overview might show, for example, that one of your contacts has been playing Call of Duty for 13 days in a row while another contact has been playing World of Warcraft for over 100 hours, which is then advertised with a marathon badge.

You can also react directly to individual in-game time displays …