Discord's activity tracking option, which displays the game you're currently running under your name, got an upgrade in the latest patch. Well, it's an upgrade if you don't mind your friends knowing that you've just spent 20 hours in Runescape, or that you've logged in to Final Fantasy 14 every day for the past month. It's not an upgrade if you'd rather keep your gaming habits between you and the vast, non-judgmental universe.
Previously, Discord's activity feature only showed which game you're currently running. With this update, the PC client now also shows your recent gaming history, with a timer that displays how long you've been running whatever you're currently playing, "streaks" which indicate how frequently you return to a game, and other details about your history. It only displays information from the past 30 days.
"Server member lists on desktop now showcase a member's recent activity, including the games they’ve played and any jams they've listened to," reads Discord's August 28 changelog. "Now you'll know when your friend relaunches your favorite coop game for the first time in ages!"
It's just a limited version of Steam's playtime tracking, but it does change the nature of Discord's activity sharing feature. It's one thing to let everyone know what game I'm currently running so that they can possibly decide to join in or ask a question. It's another to break down how I've spent the past 30 days of my gaming habits. Do I really want everyone to know how long I've spent in a '90s adventure game nostalgia hole recently, hypothetically?
You can turn off Discord's activity feature in the "Activity Privacy" section of the settings menu, but at least for now, there's no way to keep activity sharing on while disabling the recent history feature.
The feeling among the PC Gamer staffers who pointed this out to me today is mostly along the lines of: Oh god no, I keep my Steam profile private for a reason.
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Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.
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