Understanding Twitch’s New “Drop Ins” Feature
Drop Ins is a new feature within Twitch’s Stream Together that lets streamers “drop in” on each other’s livestreams without the hassle of pre-planning. Here’s how it works:
- Audio & Video Setup: Once accepted, you can easily set up audio and video through OBS or other streaming software.
- Check Availability: While streaming, you can see if your followed channels or other streamers are available for collaboration.
- Knock to Join: If they are available, you can “knock” on their door. They will receive a private notification and can choose to let you join.
The Catch: No Permanent Opt-Out
While the feature seems promising, there is a significant drawback: No permanent opt-out. You can only pause the feature for “1 Hour” or “This Stream.” It automatically turns back on for every new stream, effectively forcing its use. This could lead to unwanted interruptions, even with the ability to pause requests temporarily.
Key Features
Drop Ins offers various features to manage your collaborations effectively. You can easily accept or decline collaboration requests directly from the notification and control who can request to collaborate with you through your Favorites settings.
Twitch has also integrated safety features such as moderation, request cooldowns, reporting, and channel block/ban features to protect against harassment.
Final Thoughts
Twitch seems adamant about making the Guest Star/Stream Together/Drop Ins feature a major part of streaming on the platform. They’ve been putting significant developer resources into this feature for a few years, and it still seems limited in use across the platform.
Will Drop Ins be the feature that pushes more streamers to use Stream Together? Who knows, but it certainly looks like Twitch wants you to use it with its limited ability to be disabled permanently.
🔥 Pete’s Content Corner
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- Video Stories are now available for all Twitch affiliates and partners, with web viewing also launched.
- Creators in Twitch’s new DJ Program will face a new music enforcement system starting in September.
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