Excessive behaviour will soon be punished more severely on Twitch
Those who spend a lot of time on Twitch know that there are sometimes less nice people in chats. Until now, these people could be banned, but could still continue to watch without being able to chat. That’s changing now.
Twitch ban becomes more powerful
Twitch has added a setting in the creater options: Blocked and blocked users will soon no longer be able to access streams with this. This feature has been eagerly awaited by some users. Already in 2019 (reported Kotaku) for example, about how poorly streamers are protected from malicious viewers or stalkers.
Information about the update was posted by Twitch reporters Lowco and (Zach Bussey)
HUGE TWITCH UPDATE: When you block or ban someone, they’ll no longer be able to view your stream! pic.twitter.com/hS1LOLrbqF
– Lowco 🏖️ (@LowcoTV) August 16, 2023
Accordingly, streamers can activate or deactivate the new setting in their creator tools. Currently, the feature is only available to a limited number of streamers, but a broad rollout is reportedly planned for September.
If a user is blocked or blocked while a stream is in progress, this will immediately disable them from streaming.
But beware: This setting does not prevent users from watching videos on demand (VODs). These archived livestreams remain available on the channels for a period of seven to 60 days, depending on whether the streamer is an affiliate, partner or regular streamer. However, Lowco states that this restriction is temporary for now.
The introduction of the feature will particularly benefit streamers who regularly face harassment in their chats.
Update overdue?
Security on Twitch has been a hot topic for quite some time. Especially after in 2022 Bloomberg reporter Cecilia D’Anastasio (exposed thousands of accounts that were molesting children). At the time, the platform’s AI tools were improved to detect harmful actors and prevent them from using the platform
The upcoming September update seems to fulfil Twitch’s promise to lock out banned users. Still, the question remains whether this will be enough to stop the harassment completely.
What do you think of the new Twitch update? Drop us a line in the comments!
