Moderation Made Simple: Twitch’s Latest Updates
Twitch is testing some significant updates designed to give streamers better control, clearer insights, and more peace of mind when it comes to moderation. Here’s what’s new:
Test Your AutoMod Before It Goes Live
The most immediately useful addition is Twitch’s new AutoMod Testing tool, built right into your moderation dashboard. This lets you input words or phrases and see exactly how your current AutoMod settings would handle them – whether they’d be allowed, held for review, or blocked entirely.
This solves a real problem every streamer faces: setting AutoMod levels without knowing if they’ll catch actual bad actors or just frustrate legitimate viewers trying to have normal conversations.
The testing tool helps you find that sweet spot where your filters actually protect your community without making your chat feel overly sanitized and restricted. You can test specific gaming terms, community inside jokes, or even controversial topics relevant to your content to make sure your settings make sense for your audience.
Simpler Moderation Settings
Twitch is also testing a simplified dashboard for Moderation Settings. The new layout organizes everything under clear headings like “Chatter Permissions,” “AutoMod & Message Filtering,” and “Channel Protection.”
For creators who want granular control, advanced settings are still there, just a click away under “View Advanced Settings” in each category. It aims to be the best of both worlds: simplicity for quick adjustments, depth when you need it.
Bot Badges: Finally, Some Clarity
Perhaps the most straightforward improvement is Twitch’s plan to introduce official badges and labels for Chat Bots that streamers or moderators have invited to their channels.
This means legitimate bots you’ve invited like Nightbot, Streamlabs, and StreamElements will have clear, official indicators in your chat and community list. No more wondering if that unfamiliar username is a helpful moderation tool or something more questionable.
For creators, this brings much-needed transparency to your chat management. Viewers can easily identify which automated messages are from tools you’ve chosen to help run your stream, and you get a cleaner view of who’s actually in your chat.
Part of Twitch’s 2025 Focus
These updates align with Dan Clancy’s stated priorities for improving creator tools throughout 2025. Unlike some of Twitch’s more experimental features, these feel grounded in solving actual day-to-day problems that every streamer deals with.
Pete’s Content Corner
Delve into my weekly selection of content creation highlights – handpicked videos, podcasts, and tweets that promise to captivate, educate, and entertain.
- Twitch is testing a new clip browsing experience that lets you switch between clips without leaving the page, similar in design to the recently killed channel switcher but for clips instead of livestreams.
- YouTube is expanding Effect Maker, letting eligible creators design and publish custom effects for Shorts across 85+ regions. GenAI effect creation tools are coming later this year, though it’s currently desktop-only with no mobile timeline announced.
- Discord and NVIDIA are bringing cloud gaming directly to Discord through GeForce NOW, starting with Fortnite. While most streamers already have powerful rigs, it’s an interesting glimpse at how gaming and social platforms continue to merge.
Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read Stream Report.
Pete ✌️
