Are Invite Rewards Against Discord's TOS?
Yes. Invite rewards are explicitly against Discord's policies. Discord names them directly in their Platform Manipulation Policy as an example of artificially inflating server membership, alongside "join-for-join" and purchasing fake members.
What are invite rewards? Invite rewards are systems that reward users for inviting others to a Discord server, like "Invite 5 friends = Get Nitro."
This guide explains exactly what Discord prohibits, why invite rewards cause problems, and what compliant alternatives exist for growing your server.
What Discord's Policies Say
Discord doesn't leave room for interpretation on this one. Multiple policies address invite rewards directly.
Explicitly Named as a Violation
The Platform Manipulation Policy states:
"Individuals are prohibited from attempting to manipulate engagement metrics, artificially inflating server membership (for example, via 'join-for-join,' 'invite rewards,' purchasing fake members), and selling artificial engagement services."
Invite rewards are listed by name as an example of artificial inflation. This is the clearest evidence that they're not allowed.
Strongly Discouraged with Action Warning
The Tips Against Spam and Hacking page says:
"Invite reward servers are servers that promise some form of perk, often financial, for inviting and getting other users to join said server. We strongly discourage this activity, as it often results in spamming users with unsolicited messages."
And follows up with:
"If it leads to spam or another form of abuse, we may take action including removing the users and server."
This isn't a suggestion. Discord will remove both users and servers running invite reward systems.
Defined as Inauthentic Engagement
The same Platform Manipulation Policy defines what makes engagement inauthentic:
"We will consider engagement to be inauthentic if it is purchased, induced (like promises of financial reward), or fraudulent (for example, it involves fake accounts)."
Invite rewards are textbook "induced" engagement. You're promising something in exchange for invites. That's exactly what Discord calls inauthentic.
Violates Community Guidelines
The Community Guidelines state:
"Do not engage with our service in an inauthentic way. This includes artificially inflating server membership, manipulating engagement metrics, and selling artificial engagement services."
Invite rewards check multiple boxes: artificial inflation, manipulated metrics, and if monetized, selling engagement.
Why Invite Rewards Cause Problems
Discord's policies exist because invite rewards create real harm.
| Problem | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Spam | Users mass-DM friends and strangers with invite links |
| Low-quality members | People join for the reward, then leave or stay inactive |
| Unsolicited contact | Third parties who didn't ask get bombarded |
| Fake engagement | Server appears active but members aren't genuine |
| Platform abuse | Artificial growth strains Discord's systems |
The core issue is that invite rewards incentivize users to contact other people. Every person trying to earn rewards becomes a spam vector, sending unsolicited messages to friends, posting links in unrelated servers, and flooding channels with invites.
Real Enforcement Examples
Discord actively enforces against invite rewards.
Plasma Bot Unverified
One of the most popular Discord bots, Plasma, was unverified specifically because it offered invite tracking and rewards for giveaways. A community post documented this:
"One of the most popular discord bots (Plasma) recently got unverified for the main reason, this bot was having the feature to filter user's invites when hosting giveaways, and this is called invite rewards."
This enforcement shows Discord actively monitors and takes action against bots offering invite reward features.
The Key Problem: Third-Party Contact
The fundamental issue with invite rewards is who gets contacted.
With invite rewards, users are incentivized to reach out to other people. Those people didn't ask to be contacted. They receive unsolicited DMs, see invite links spammed in channels they're in, and get pressured by friends trying to earn rewards.
This creates a chain reaction of unwanted contact, which is exactly what Discord's anti-spam policies target.
What About Tracking Invites Without Rewards?
Tracking who invited whom is allowed for moderation purposes. Discord permits bots to monitor invites for security and analytics.
What's prohibited is rewarding those invites. The moment you attach a benefit to invite counts, you're in violation territory.
Compliant Alternative: Referral Systems
If invite rewards are banned, how do you incentivize sharing? The answer is referral systems that don't involve Discord invites at all.
How Compliant Referral Systems Work
Instead of tracking Discord invites, compliant referral systems track web link shares:
- User enters a giveaway and receives a unique referral link
- They share this link anywhere: Twitter, Reddit, their own Discord server, wherever
- Someone clicks the link and enters the giveaway through it
- The original user earns bonus entries
The critical difference: no Discord invite tracking is involved. The referral is tracked via web URL parameters, not Discord's invite API.
Why This Is Compliant
| Aspect | Invite Rewards (Banned) | Referral Links (Compliant) |
|---|---|---|
| What's tracked | Discord invite code usage | Web URL clicks |
| Discord API involved | Yes | No |
| What's rewarded | Server joins | Giveaway entries |
| Intended sharing | Person-to-person DMs | Social media, Reddit, public posts |
| Discord's stance | "Strongly discourage" | No prohibition |
ScopliDrop's Referral System
ScopliDrop offers a Discord-compliant referral system that achieves the growth benefits of invite rewards without violating policies.
How it works:
- Every giveaway participant gets a unique referral link (e.g.,
scoplidrop.com/g/summer-giveaway?r_ABC123) - They share this link on social media, Reddit, or anywhere else
- When someone enters through the link, the referrer earns bonus entries
- The new participant auto-joins the Discord server via OAuth so they can be notified if they win
Why it's compliant:
- No invite tracking: Referrals tracked via web URLs, not Discord API
- No spam chain: Users share giveaway links on social media, not Discord invite codes in every DM
- Auto-join is for notifications: Participants join the server via OAuth purely so they can be notified if they win
- Verified by Discord: ScopliDrop passed Discord's bot verification with this feature enabled
The system rewards users for sharing giveaway participation opportunities, not for inviting people to Discord servers. This distinction keeps it compliant.
Result without the risk. You get viral sharing and server growth without invite tracking, spam chains, or policy violations. Every new member joined because they wanted to enter a giveaway, not because someone spammed them.
Invite Rewards vs Join Tasks vs Referral Systems
These three concepts often get confused. Here's how they differ:
| Feature | Invite Rewards | Join Tasks | Referral Systems |
|---|---|---|---|
| What user does | Invites others to Discord | Joins a server themselves | Shares a giveaway link |
| Third party contacted | Yes | No | No (they click voluntarily) |
| Discord invite tracking | Yes | No | No |
| Spam created | Yes | No | No |
| Discord's stance | Prohibited | Allowed | Allowed |
| Compliant | No | Yes | Yes |
Invite rewards create spam because they incentivize contacting others.
Join tasks require only the participant to act. They're compliant because no third parties are involved.
Referral systems (when properly implemented) track web shares, not Discord invites. People click links voluntarily, so no unwanted contact occurs.
Summary
| Point | Policy Source | Key Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Explicitly named | Platform Manipulation Policy | Listed alongside fake members and join-for-join |
| Strongly discouraged | Tips Against Spam | Discord will take action |
| Induced engagement | Platform Manipulation Policy | Financial rewards = inauthentic |
| Community Guidelines | Community Guidelines | Violates multiple rules |
| Real enforcement | Plasma Bot | Popular bot was unverified for this |
Frequently Asked Questions
Grow Your Server Without Invite Rewards
Invite rewards are banned for good reason: they create spam. But you can still achieve viral growth with compliant alternatives.
ScopliDrop gives you a referral system that rewards sharing without tracking Discord invites. Plus join tasks, cross-platform growth tasks, anti-fraud detection, and activity tracking. All verified by Discord.
