Twitch chat moderation has three layers: settings you configure once, tools you use during a stream, and a small group of human moderators you trust. The settings catch the easy spam. The tools catch the rest. The humans handle judgement calls.
A new streamer can usually run safe chat with just the built-in tools. You only need outside bots for specific gaps.
The first three settings
Open your Creator Dashboard, then Settings, then Stream, then Moderation. Three settings matter on day one.
- AutoMod. Twitch's built-in filter, set to one of four strictness levels per category (Discrimination, Sexual, Hostility, Profanity). Most channels run all four at "Less filtering" or "Medium". Strict on Discrimination is sensible. Adjust over time.
- Chat Delay. Holds every message for 2 to 6 seconds before it appears. Useful for moderators who need time to react before viewers see a message. Cost: chat feels slower.
- Email or Phone Verified Chat. Requires viewers to have a verified email or phone before posting. Catches almost all raid-account spam. Worth enabling for verified followers only, not for everyone.
These three together cover most low-effort harassment.
During the stream
Three things to know how to do, fast, without thinking:
- Timeout. Slash command /timeout username duration silences the user for the duration (in seconds). 10 minutes (600) for a first offence is standard. /timeout username 1 acts as a soft warning.
- Ban. /ban username permanently removes them from the channel until you unban. Use for unambiguous harassment, slurs, or repeat offenders.
- Slow Mode. /slow 30 forces a 30-second gap between messages from any user. Useful when chat is fast enough that messages scroll faster than you can read.
Your moderators have access to all of the same commands.
A small list of mods is better than a large one
Two or three trusted moderators is plenty for a channel under 1,000 followers. Pick people who:
- Watch your streams regularly
- Are calm under pressure
- Will not abuse the timeout button for fun
- You actually know, or who have a long track record in your community
Avoid recruiting strangers who offer to mod in their first week as a viewer. The asymmetry of "someone you do not know with timeout powers" is rarely worth the help.
When to bring in a chatbot
A chatbot extends what AutoMod cannot easily handle:
- Banning specific phrases or domains your category attracts (giveaway scams, follow-bot promotions)
- Caps filters, emote-only filters, link permissions per user level
- Custom responses to chat commands (your schedule, your socials, your rules)
Soulstack offers a Twitch chat bot with moderation, commands, and timed messages, but any modern chatbot covers the same ground. Pick one and use it well rather than installing three.
Hate raids
Hate raids are coordinated bursts of accounts joining a channel to spam slurs and harassment. Twitch's Suspicious User Controls filter is the first defence. Set it to "Restrict suspected users" so suspected accounts cannot post until they are reviewed.
If a hate raid happens despite this, your immediate actions are:
- Enable Subscribers Only Mode and Follower-Only Mode (with a higher follow age, for example 30 days)
- Have a moderator switch to a holding scene with reduced visibility while the raid is dealt with
- Report the offending accounts after the stream
The aim is to ride out the raid, not to fight it message by message. Most raids end within 10 to 20 minutes.
What not to do
A few moves that look like decisive action but make things worse:
- Reading slurs out loud. Gives the bad actor exactly what they wanted.
- Banning then unbanning publicly to "give a warning". The unban looks like reward.
- Setting AutoMod to maximum strictness for everything. Real conversation gets caught in the filter and chat dies.
- Letting a regular get away with behaviour you would ban a newcomer for. Audiences notice. Inconsistency loses moderators' authority faster than any single bad call.
Document the rules
Pin the channel rules to chat at the start of each stream with a !rules command or a chatbot timer. A reasonable set:
- Be respectful
- No spam, no self-promotion
- No backseat gaming unless asked
- English in main chat
- Listen to the mods
When you ban someone, screenshot the offending message before the timeout. Twitch's mod log keeps the record, but a private screenshot makes appeals less he-said-she-said.
When to revisit
Re-tune AutoMod every couple of months. New categories attract new spam patterns, and your tolerance for what is the room you want will change with the size and age of your audience.