Twitch makes big changes to strikes and bans

Twitching has announced that it is making some changes to the way strikes and bans work on its streaming site. The change follows numerous requests from streamers and viewers to make the banning process on Twitch more transparent.

Avoiding bans and strikes on Twitch can be difficult. In theory, it should just be about following the rules, but Twitch has a reputation for issuing bans and strikes for reasons Twitch streamers don't understand. Twitch simply informs them that they did something that resulted in a strike against their account, making it difficult to ensure the problem doesn't happen again.

During TwitchCon, the streaming company announced that it will be making some changes that should improve the process for both parties. The company has announced that those who violate the rules will receive a snippet of the exact location of the violation in chat, via email, and in the complaint portal notifications. Later, the company will do the same for the video streams themselves. Streamers who violate the rules will be shown a clip of the location where the violation occurred, so they know exactly what triggered the Twitch ban and can avoid doing it again. Both types of strikes also give users the opportunity to appeal.

Twitch changes its strike system

In addition to being more transparent about what users and streamers have done wrong to incur Twitch's ire, the company is also adjusting how its strikes work. Twitch points out that long-time streamers often find their accounts at risk for minor violations because past strikes are stored permanently. In theory, an account could go years without any issues and then be banned for a minor issue. Going forward, Twitch will reward good behavior by allowing strikes to expire and be removed from a streamer's record, but bans will still be issued for those who commit more serious violations.

Twitch has announced that the new strike expiration will begin in early 2025. However, Twitch has not said when the plan to notify users of the cause of a strike in chat or on stream will be implemented. With any luck, this update will arrive in 2024, as streamers have been complaining for years about receiving strikes from Twitch for unknown reasons. Hopefully, this will help streamers reduce the number of strikes they receive overall and improve the experience for everyone.