The chat filter on Twitch live streams can be annoying for some viewers who want to see all messages, including those with profanity or other mature language. Fortunately, Twitch allows you to easily disable chat filtering if desired. Here’s a detailed guide on how to turn off the chat filter on both desktop and mobile.
Table of Contents
Why Twitch Has a Chat Filter
Twitch enables chat filtering by default to prevent harassment and abuse. The filter aims to create a more positive viewing experience by hiding discriminatory, sexually explicit, hostile, or profane messages.
However, some viewers find the chat filter overly restrictive. They want the option to see all messages, even if it means viewing profanity or negativity at times.
Fortunately, Twitch allows viewers to disable chat filtering. You can customize settings to your comfort level.
How Viewers Can Disable Twitch Chat Filtering
On Desktop
Follow these steps to turn off chat filtering on the Twitch website:
- Navigate to any Twitch channel with an active stream.
- Click the gear icon in the bottom right of the chat box.
- Select “Chat Filter” from the menu.
- Toggle off the “Enable filtering in chat” option. This disables all filtering.
Alternatively, you can disable individual filters like profanity or discrimination without turning everything off. Customize based on your preferences.
On Mobile
Here is how to disable the annoying chat filter in the Twitch mobile app:
- Open the Twitch app and select a live stream.
- Tap the three-dot menu icon at the bottom of the chat.
- Choose “Chat Settings” then “Hide Offensive Language.”
- Toggle off the “Enable filtering in chat” option to disable all filters.
Again, you can disable only certain chat filters if desired while keeping others enabled.
Moderator Limitations for Disabling Chat Filters
Importantly, Twitch chat filtering cannot be disabled by stream moderators or channel owners. The option only appears for regular viewers.
As a moderator, you can still timeout or ban specific users who are being abusive in chat. But you cannot disable the automatic chat filters on your own channel. This prevents channels from allowing rampant harassment.
Channel owners would need to contact Twitch support to request special permission to disable chat filtering for their community. But approval is extremely unlikely.
Should You Disable Twitch Chat Filtering?
With the ability to disable chat filtering, should you actually do it? Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros
- See all messages without words filtered out
- Less restrictive chat experience
- Unfiltered chat can be humorous
Cons
- May see offensive, abusive, or harassing messages
- Loses positive community atmosphere
- Channel owners have no control over filter settings
In the end, it comes down to your personal preferences. If you find chat filtering overly restrictive, disabling it provides more chat freedom.
But keep in mind you’ll likely encounter more negativity, racism, sexism, harassment, and abuse compared to filtered chats. It’s a trade-off viewers need to evaluate.
Customizing Twitch Chat Settings
Even if you keep the chat filter enabled, you can still customize settings to improve your viewing experience:
- Adjust individual filters – Disable only certain filters like profanity while keeping others enabled.
- Slow mode – Slows down chat so messages post less frequently.
- Full screen mode – Focuses the stream visuals by hiding the chat.
- Popout chat – Opens chat in a separate window for flexibility.
Take advantage of these settings to reduce chat annoyances without fully disabling filters.
Conclusion
Twitch chat filtering aims to create positive community experiences by limiting harassment and toxicity. But some viewers find the filters overly restrictive for their preferences.
Fortunately, any Twitch viewer can easily disable chat filtering on both desktop and mobile. Just dive into the chat settings and toggle off filtering.
Consider the pros and cons before fully disabling your chat filter. And take advantage of customization options even if you keep filtering enabled. This gives you more control over your viewing experience.
With the right settings, you can avoid annoying chat filters when watching your favorite Twitch streams.
