Twitch adds parental controls for teen livestreaming and messages
Twitch says guardians can now block teen broadcasts, disable private messages, set daily limits and filter labeled content.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Twitch is giving guardians new tools to control how teenagers use its streaming service, including the ability to stop them from going live. The update matters because it gives parents direct account-level controls over livestreaming, messaging, screen time and recommendations for users ages 13 to 17.
The Verge reported that Twitch has made parental controls available through a new account-linking setup between guardians and teen users. Once linked, a guardian can manage selected settings for the teenager’s account and receive a weekly email about the teen’s activity on the platform.
According to Twitch, that weekly summary includes the channels a teen watched and the amount of time spent watching. The controls are housed in Account Settings, under the Family Center page, The Verge reported.
What parents can restrict
Twitch’s new controls cover several parts of the service that can expose teens to other users or certain kinds of content, according to The Verge. Guardians can use the tools to prevent a teen account from broadcasting live video on Twitch.
The controls also allow guardians to turn off Whispers, Twitch’s private messaging system, for managed teen accounts. The Verge reported that this setting blocks minors from both sending and receiving direct messages.
- Guardians can block a teen account from livestreaming, according to Twitch.
- Guardians can disable Whispers, preventing private messages from being sent or received, The Verge reported.
- Guardians can set daily Twitch time limits that apply across the teen’s devices, according to The Verge.
- Guardians can limit recommended and search content based on Twitch classification labels.
The time-limit feature is flexible and works across all devices used by the teen’s Twitch account, The Verge reported. Twitch is also letting guardians filter content with certain classification labels, keeping those categories out of search results and recommendation feeds for the managed account.
The labels named by The Verge include Gambling, Mature-Rated Game and Sexual Themes, along with other labeled categories. Twitch uses those labels to identify streams with specific kinds of content, and the new parental tools let guardians keep labeled material from surfacing in certain discovery areas.
What happens when a teen turns 18
Twitch said accounts managed through parental controls will automatically unlink from a guardian when the user turns 18, according to The Verge. That means the controls are designed for teen accounts and do not continue after the user reaches adulthood.
The company also said it will consider adding more parental control features later, The Verge reported. Twitch described the setting as optional “at this time,” according to the report.
The rollout gives guardians more visibility into teen activity without removing teen access to Twitch entirely. It also gives Twitch a clearer set of safety controls for families who want limits on broadcasting, private messaging, viewing time and certain recommended content.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.