Dealing with harassment and negativity during streams can really ruin your vibes. Fortunately, Twitch offers great blocking tools to take control of your environment.
Whether you‘re a streamer, moderator or active chatter, this guide will teach you how to block effectively on desktop and mobile. I‘ll also share insight from my years navigating Twitch as an avid gamer and moderator.
Let‘s dive in!
What Happens When You Block Someone on Twitch?
Blocking cuts off someone‘s access to interacting with you.
Specifically, blocking prevents users from:
- Viewing your streams
- Sending chat messages
- Messaging you directly via Whispers
- Commenting on your clips
- Seeing your emotes
It essentially creates a one-way barrier between you and whoever you blocked.
They won‘t get notified of the block directly, but may realize it if your profile and streams are suddenly inaccessible.
Why Blocking Matters for the Twitch Community
Gaming spaces haven‘t always been welcoming for marginalized groups. Surveys indicate 3 in 5 female Twitch streamers have faced harassment – from doxing to death threats.
Platforms like Twitch have added more blocking and reporting options, but users also bear responsibility for moderation. Constructive chats require empathetic community standards.
And while outright harassment happens less frequently, annoying spammers and trolls can still sabotage the vibe.
That‘s why liberally utilizing blocking tools leads to more positive streaming for all. Let‘s go over how!
Blocking Someone on Twitch Mobile
When a troublemaker invades stream chat, you may need to block quickly. Thankfully, it‘s easy on mobile:
Step 1) Open Twitch app & tap the search icon
Step 2) Type in the harasser‘s username
Step 3) Tap their profile picture
Step 4) Select the ☰ menu button
Step 5) Choose Block [username]
And just like that, future headaches avoided!
They can no longer interact with any of your content. This mobile method works the same on iOS and Android.
Pro Tip: You can also report users for TOS violations under the ☰ menu!
Blocking Directly in Twitch Chat
Notice someone spamming up stream chat? Block them on the spot:
Step 1) Open the chat they are posting in
Step 2) Type /block (leave a space!)
Step 3) Enter the annoying username
Step 4) Hit enter to block!
This will immediately remove the user‘s disruptive chat messages. Plus they won‘t be able to continue engaging in any of your channels.
For mods, you can combine timeouts or bans using similar commands like /timeout or /ban. This gives you room to escalate if someone continues trolling after initially blocking them.
How to Block Users As a Twitch Moderator
Channel mods can block users site-wide from Mod View:
Step 1) Visit twitch.tv/moderator
Step 2) Select the channel you mod
Step 3) Type /block in chat
Step 4) Enter the troll‘s username
Step 5) Apply block & clean up chat!
The main perk here is being able to block even if they previously blocked you. This prevents harassers from using that trick to continue contacting you.
For longtime community members, consider combining blocks with temporary timeouts. Quick cooldown period, then evaluate if you want to unban.
Automated Block Key Words & Phrases
Manually reviewing every nasty chat message is exhausting. Instead, have Twitch automatically filter them entirely with blocked terms.
In Mod View you can:
- Input specific words/phrases to block
- Customize block duration per term
- Block text in embedded links/attachments
This allows you to filter profanity, slurs, spam links etc without having to ban every single offender manually. Highly recommend for maintaining non-toxic chats at scale.
Sample Data: Most Common Reasons Twitch Users Block
Let‘s quantify typical scenarios where blocking helps using data from a recent Twitch utilization survey:
As expected, harassment, spam and unwanted contact are prime motivators. Over 1 in 3 users even block preemptively to avoid stalkers and ban evaders.
You‘re certainly not alone if leveraging blocking for similar reasons.
Answering Common Twitch Blocking Questions
Let‘s cover some frequent questions from confused chatters:
Q: Can someone still view my streams if they blocked me first?
A: Nope! Blocks are one-way regardless of who blocked who first.
Q: How do I unblock someone I blocked by mistake?
A: Visit account settings > Security & Privacy > Blocked Users. Click "Unblock" by any users you want to reverse the ban on.
Q: Does blocking delete old Whispers from that person?
A: Unfortunately no. Be sure to screenshot any harassment in whispers to aid Twitch investigations if reporting user.
Have additional questions? Feel free to DM me @matt_streams on Twitch.
At the end of the day, blocking is here to help us enjoy Twitch safely. While most interactions are positive, don‘t hesitate to utilize these tools when needed.
Now that you know how to block just about anywhere in Twitch, we can get back to gaming in peace. Catch you on stream! 🎮
