Twitch Introduces Chat-Pinning Feature for Subscribers with Prime Accounts

Twitch has introduced a chat-pinning feature, which is comparable to those available on other platforms such as YouTube. The feature, called Hype Chat, provides a fresh source of income for both the streamers and the platform. To use the feature, users can pay between $1 and $500 to create a message that will remain at the top of the chat until someone else pays more to replace it. However, the name Hype Chat may seem outdated.

The more you pay, the longer your message stays up and the more characters you can use to write your message. Big spenders also get access to a variety of design options to help your “notice me senpai” message get the attention of your favorite streamer.

Streamers set the price here, with Twitch taking 30 percent of the cut and leaving the remaining 70 percent to the creator. At the time of release, only high-profile streamers, i.e. Partners, will be able to use the feature. Twitch says this is because the purpose of pinned chats is to allow a message to stand out during fast-moving chats with many participants. Strangely, these Twitch partners cannot opt out of the service, according to The Verge.

Of course, whenever you mention pinned posts, you have to contend with the reality of hateful and discriminatory language. This is the internet after all. To do this, Twitch complements this feature with security tools. Just like regular Twitch chat, there is a set of banned words and phrases site-wide and set by individual creators. Also, if you say something mean and get banned from chat, your pinned message will fly with you. The company’s AutoMod system screens all messages submitted through this feature, and human moderators can remove messages at any time.

The feature is rolling out right now, but only for approved partners and only on the web app. It will be released in the near future for smartphone and tablet applications.