Ultra.
If you read our blog post about Twitch Raids (and how to start one), you probably got very excited about using this fantastic feature to grow your channel while supporting some of your favorite fellow streamers. Twitch introduced this feature to further the community-driven nature of the platform. However, not everyone follows the rules, which are where Twitch hate raids come in.
Unfortunately, some users use Twitch Raids maliciously to spam and harass users by sending their virtual army to attack. While we genuinely hope you never experience a malicious Raid, we want to prepare you just in case it ever happens—stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready. Today, we’ll discuss what you should do if your Twitch channel is the target of a Twitch hate raid.
Preventative Measures for Avoiding Twitch Hate Raids
One of the best things to do for your Twitch Channel is to take the proper preventative measures to ensure you don’t fall victim to a hate-fueled raid. Below are a few things you should consider doing before going live to keep the peace during your stream.
Set Who Can Raid Your Channel
By default, Twitch enables all raids to be allowed on your channel, however, you have the option to change it. From the left navigation panel of your Twitch Creator Dashboard, go to Settings, then Stream. If you scroll to the very bottom of the page, you’ll see a section labeled Raids, where you have the following options:
- Allow all raids
- Only allow raids from teammates and followed channels
- Block all raids
Consider changing the setting to “Only allow raids from teammates and followed channels” to ensure you’re only being raided by people you know and trust on Twitch.
Appoint Moderators
When you’re focused on delivering your audience an excellent live stream, assigning a moderator for your Twitch channel can help you keep things in order. Moderators can complete tasks on your behalf, such as deleting comments or banning users that may be spamming or breaking rules during your stream.
If you don’t have a trusted moderator for your Twitch channel just yet, you can turn on AutoMod via the moderation settings from your Creator Dashboard to ensure you have some protection against harassing comments. For AutoMod, Twitch recommends setting it to at least Level 2 (“some moderation”) to help you weed out any bad apples.
Enable Email and/or Phone Verification
To crack down on malicious activity on the platform, Twitch allows streamers to request select viewers to have a verified email address or phone number associated with their account to participate in the chat. To do this, go to your Twitch Creator Dashboard, and select Settings. Next, choose Moderation. Under Channel Privileges, you can view your current safety rating and change which users require verification and under what circumstances.
What to Do If You’re on The Receiving End of a Twitch Hate Raid
You may feel a mix of emotions when experiencing a Twitch hate raid. However, you can do a few things to de-escalate the situation.
Don’t Panic
First things first—do your best not to lose your cool if you end up in the middle of a malicious Raid. Instead, remain calm, and implement some of our recommended solutions below. If possible, avoid allowing the Raid to ruin your vibe—while a hate raid is a terrible experience, you’re in charge of your channel and now is the time to act.
Activate Safe Mode
If you’re currently using Streamlabs to live stream on Twitch, you’ll be happy to know that we created an easy way for you to increase safety by enabling Safe Mode.
Activating Safe Mode will:
- Clear all recent events
- Clear currently queued follower/Raid alerts
- Disable all follower alerts
When Cloudbot is enabled, Safe Mode will:
- Put your chat in emote-only, follower-only, and sub-only mode
- Disable chat alerts for followers
- Clear chat history
Activate Followers-Only Mode
As we briefly mentioned, the Followers-Only mode is a great feature to take back control of your chat. From the moderation settings on your Twitch Creator Dashboard, you can set a specified time that a person must have been following you to comment in your chat (ranging from 10 minutes to three months). We recommend setting it to at least one month to help you filter out the bad guys.
Use the /Clear Command or Change Your Chat Settings
In a pinch, when there are way too many spammy comments to bear, you can use the /Clear command to delete all messages in the chat. You may find this helpful, mainly when there is an influx of abusive messages in a short period. Additionally, you can enable Non-Mod Delay, which creates a short delay to your chat messages, allowing mods and bots to delete messages before your audience can see them.
Ban and Report Abusive Accounts
Lastly, ban and report malicious accounts that may have participated in the hate raid. Twitch wants to do its best to keep abusive behaviors off the platform, so reporting these acts as they arise is a great way to help them keep the community safe.
While Twitch hate raids can be extremely distressing, it doesn’t have to make or break your live stream. Take the tips and apply them to protect yourself and your viewers from malicious attacks. If you found this blog post helpful, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to stay up to date with our best tips for streamers and other content creators.