Polls arrive on Discord as a new non-Nitro feature

The lines between social media apps keep getting blurrier, and features that were once niche are becoming mainstream. Remember when short-form video was TikTok's thing? Or how Snapchat owned disappearing messages? But even in spite of the tidal wave of features, some platforms, like Reddit, Discord, and Telegram, have stubbornly clung to their identities. Discord, in particular, has been measured about adding new bells and whistles, so when it finally unveiled native polls, it felt like a long-overdue move.

Discord, just like Reddit, is a playground for online communities. Servers filled with channels are the backbone, like a wilder version of Subreddits. Polling fits this model well – Reddit rolled out polls back in 2020, and Telegram even earlier in January of that year. Even WhatsApp is getting into the community game, adding polls to announcement groups just last year.

Until now, Discord users relied on a workaround for polls: pinning a message and tallying emoji reactions. It was clunky, and results easily disappeared into the depths of a chat history. As you can see above, even Discord's own official video introducing polls hilariously pokes fun at this makeshift system.

However, now with the introduction of official polls, this method of using emoji reactions can be a thing of the past. Creating a poll will be very simple: Tap that familiar plus icon next to the chat bar, select "Poll," and done! You can title your poll, add up to 10 options, and even set a duration. Want a multiple-choice format? That's an option too. No more worrying if seeing the results will skew your vote, as Discord will have a dedicated "Show Results" button.

Right now, there are some limitations to the feature. Slash commands won't magically create polls, and there's no anonymous voting. But hey, you can change your vote while the poll's live, and anyone can create polls. Polls are slowly rolling out to all users in the next couple of days, so if you don't see the feature show up now, sit tight as it will eventually get to you.