Discord spoilers let you conceal text or certain attachments until a reader chooses to reveal them. For text, type two vertical bar characters on either side, as in ||plot twist||. It is a courtesy for communities discussing games, films and other topics where readers may not want surprises revealed immediately.
How to hide text in a Discord message
- Start a new message in a text channel or DM.
- Type
||before the sensitive words. - Write the spoiler text.
- Type
||after it and send the message.
The enclosed portion should display as concealed or masked content that readers reveal intentionally. On some desktop clients you can select a portion of text and choose a spoiler formatting action rather than manually typing the symbols.
Discord spoiler tags on phones
On iOS and Android, locate the vertical bar character in your keyboard’s punctuation menus, enter it twice before and twice after the text, then send. If your keyboard uses a secondary symbols page, you may need to switch layouts. Test with a harmless word in a draft message before sending a long spoiler.
How to mark images or attachments as spoilers
When adding a supported attachment, look for the option to mark the uploaded content as a spoiler. Discord’s upload interface can change, and attachment-spoiler controls may appear under a menu or file preview. For files, use the native Mark as Spoiler option where available instead of embedding the picture inside a textual bar pattern, which only applies to message text.
Spoiler text versus hidden information
A spoiler is not a security mechanism. It is meant to prevent accidental viewing, not to prevent someone in the channel from reading the content. Never put passwords, sensitive account data, private keys or confidential personal information behind spoiler markup and assume nobody else can access them.
When spoilers do not work
Wrong punctuation
Use the vertical bar |, not a lowercase L or slash. Two opening and two closing bars should surround the text.
Code formatting is active
Code blocks display literal formatting symbols, so check whether you accidentally surrounded the message in backticks.
The attachment is not marked
A caption with spoiler markup does not necessarily hide an image above it. Use the attachment’s own spoiler control where provided.
Good spoiler etiquette for communities
Give readers a little context before the concealed text: for example, ‘Chapter 7 ending:’ followed by the marked section. In a mixed-audience channel, avoid putting the actual spoiler in a notification preview, username or filename. A short warning is also helpful when the community has not established a shared spoiler policy.
FAQ
What characters hide Discord text?
Two vertical bars at both ends: ||text||.
Can you conceal an entire message?
You can wrap the message text, but attachment handling is separate.
Will other members be unable to read a spoiler?
No. They can choose to reveal it.
Does a spoiler need Nitro?
No, the normal text-formatting feature does not.
For a different text-appearance feature, see our Discord custom typing indicator explainer. See Discord’s official spoiler tags documentation for platform-specific interface details.
