Gaming
Twitch says you can’t keep that username that references sex and drugs anymore
If you have a username that you can’t repeat back to your grandmother, chances are you’re a target of this new policy update.
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The wild west days of Twitch are coming to an end. According to a recently published blog post, the company is cracking down on Twitch handles that incorporate hate speech and threats of violence.
Additionally, the company will remove names that contain personal, identifying information on the streaming website.
That’s not all; they’re even going a step further. The updated policy will also ban usernames that refer to “sexual acts, arousal, fluids or genitalia,” or anything that mentions hard drugs. On the flip side, references to weed, alcohol, or tobacco are cool and won’t get your account banned.
READ MORE: Here are the secret emojis teens are using to buy drugs online
“Although we’ve removed many reported, offensive usernames under our current policy, we believe establishing a stronger standard is needed to cultivate a diverse, inclusive global community on Twitch,” the company said in its announcement.
If you think this new policy will target your username, Twitch gives users until March 1st, 2022, to change their handle to something more family-friendly. After the deadline, the company will purge any username that promotes “hateful, harassing, violent or typically representative of malicious behavior.”
Twitch is making it easy for users to change their handle without losing any of their hard-earned rep, thankfully. But, you’ll need to make sure to update it by March 1st of this year. Here’s how you can change your Twitch name right now.
“We built a dedicated, self-serve name change tool allowing you to change your username while maintaining account history, subs, follows, and bits,” writes Twitch in a blog post. “Once you change your username, you can resume using the account with no strikes applied.”
In addition, going forward, any new Twitch handles made on the platform will run through a machine learning system. This will ensure new usernames meet the company’s updated guidelines.
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