Twitch's banned words list consists of any words that they consider offensive or see as harassment. This is true for both streamers and viewers. In 2020, they actually went ahead and banned popular phrases 'simp' and 'incel' because they thought they were offensive.
Back in 2021, I didn't know any better, and actually got my account suspended after I said 'simp' on stream. I guess I wasn't in the loop, as I hadn't heard that it was banned yet. Ever since then, I've been extra careful about what I say, and have done quite a bit of research on the topic.
If you'd like me to dive into everything I learned about the Twitch banned words list, and a bunch of additional information, like how a streamer can get banned for what they say, you can read ahead.
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In 2020, Twitch banned using 'simp' and 'incel' on streams. Their whole argument was that these were inappropriate words, as they were used as insults.
Twitch's terms and services specifically mention that anything that is considered hate speech isn't allowed. But what constitutes "hate speech"? Essentially, any words or phrases that can be considered offensive to an - ethnicity, race, national origin, immigration status, religious belief, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and veteran status.
Apart from hate speech, you should be careful and not say anything that incites violence or spread personal information. These can also get you in trouble, even if you say it was only a joke.
As a streamer, you probably don't want viewers saying any slurs or threatening violence in your chat. Remember that Twitch sees your community as an extension of yourself.
When it comes to moderating your community, there are 3 different tricks that you can try. I've actually done a separate article on this, but I thought of doing a short breakdown here.
Twitch has a built-in feature that lets you block specific words from your chat. You'll be able to nip any toxic behavior in the bud, as you can add racial slurs and anything you think is offensive to your blocked terms list. Also, remember to add any misspellings or variations of the banned words to cover all bases.
Here's how you can do this:
If your Twitch community is small, you should be able to moderate it yourself. When a user says any discriminatory words or just breaks your channel's community guidelines, you can put them in time-out. And if they keep acting up, you can eventually ban them. Using the blocked words feature also makes moderating easier.
Here's how you can put a user on timeout:
There are 2 different ways that you can ban someone from your chat. Here's method 1:
Here's method 2:
Most Twitch streamers have mods to take care of their channel. You might want to try this out too, in case taking care of it yourself won't work for you. Depending on how big your community is, you of course would need a couple of different mods.
So, how do you choose the right mod? First of all, only consider viewers who have been in your community for a long time - this will help you find loyal users. And make sure that they are not problematic: they need to have a good track record and have not broken any rules.
Once you've short-listed people, compare their personalities and see who gets along with the others and can be stern.
To make things easier for yourself, you can actually put out a pinned message on your channel and have users apply.
Once you've got your eye on a user for the position, here's how you can make them mod:
If you ever want to unmod someone, here's how you can do this:
Along with your mods, you can also use a special Twitch bot. It'll scan through chat messages, and then flag potentially offensive texts for your mod team to review. No one will see them until they are approved.
There are a few chatbots out there. In fact, Twitch includes a built-in one on all channels called AutoMod. I've discussed how you can use it, as well as one of my favorite third-party bots - Streamlab's CloudBot.
Here's how you can use AutoBot:
Here's how you use CloudBot:
Let's say you've said one of the Twitch banned words while on stream - now what? If you were reported, you'd most likely get suspended. The thing is, Twitch keeps track of the number of suspensions that you have. So, if you keep saying offensive things while on stream, your suspensions might lead to a permanent ban. All of this applies if you're a viewer and say something offensive on a chat too.
Temporary suspensions usually last around 30 days maximum. You can speak to Twitch staff and try to appeal it.
When you have guests on your channel, you need to make sure that they know it's not okay to say anything offensive either. Someone in your chat could report you. But if Twitch does take action, you might be able to appeal it saying that someone else did it and not you.
Answered below are some popular questions.
Twitch doesn't have any issue with swear words, as long as they're not slurs. Just keep in mind that if you cuss a lot while on stream, you'll have to mark your content as mature.
Here's how you can mark your Twitch channel as mature:
Twitch's banned word list basically consists of anything that can incite violence, promote physical harm, or are slurs that discriminate religious beliefs and people. As I said, you can't say 'simp' or 'incel' either. According to Twitch, they were banned, as they're used as discriminatory speech.
The above isn't just true for streamers but viewers too. While chatting, you saying something inappropriate can get you reported and suspended, or even permanently banned.
I actually ran through a couple of ways streamers can control what users say in their chat. From them, the best has to be having a moderation team set up, as well as having specific words on the block, like speech mocking medical disabilities, religions, or races.
Hopefully, you now know everything you need to know about the banned words on Twitch.
