“Shield Mode”: Twitch launches new anti-harassment tool

Security is an important topic for Twitch and that is why Amazon’s streaming platform has been investing heavily in this segment and announcing new tools to improve the security of streamers and also the audience.

The latest of these tools is “Shield Mode”, which arrives on Twitch to protect streamers from harassment and hate attacks, but without losing the chance to grow your community.

How Twitch’s “Shield Mode” works

Officially announced by Twitch this week, “Shield Mode” allows the streamer to block chat and even ban accounts that use predetermined prohibited terms from their channel.

When enabled, this new tool keeps the chat open to the streamer’s usual audience, preventing them from receiving hateful and harassing raids.

Therefore, “Shield Mode” differs from other tools already available on Twitch, such as Chat For Subscribers, which ends up limiting the growth of the streamer’s community.

The new “Shield Mode” can also be an ally tool for a transmission about a sensitive subject, avoiding hate attacks against the streamer.

The tool, according to Twitch, can be of great importance to marginalized communities that are the main focus of hate attacks on the platform, such as the LGBTQIA+ community.

“We hope this will be a first step in helping you keep your community open and welcoming to new members, while also maximizing your safety.”
Twitch

“Safety work is never over, and we’re working on more tools that make it easier to moderate your channel. As we move forward, we’re focusing more on features, like this one, that are customizable and can be easily ramped up or down to reflect your needs in the moment. We’re also working aggressively to stop more harm before it ever occurs”, Twitch said in a statement.