Twitch quietly hid “Following Since” from chat. The reason: viewbots
Streamers and mods can still see it. Everyone else lost a handy way to spot new accounts and long-time regulars.
The tea in 3
- Twitch removed "Following Since" from the general chat view in mid-September, per TOS.gg.
- Head of Community MerryKish said bad actors were "scraping the data to improve viewbots."
- Streamers and moderators can still see it in Creator Dashboard and Mod View.
Twitch removed the “Following Since” date from the general chat view in mid-September, and the company says viewbots are the reason. The change was reported by TOS.gg on Sept 16, after viewers noticed it had vanished over the previous week or so.
What changed
“Following Since” used to show when an account first followed a channel. It was a quick way to tell whether the person typing was a day-one regular or a brand-new account. Now, only streamers and their moderators can see it, through the Creator Dashboard and Mod View.
Twitch’s explanation
TOS.gg says Twitch Head of Community MerryKish gave the reason: bad actors were “scraping the data to improve viewbots.” The idea is that bot operators could use follow dates to make fake accounts look older and more believable.
Viewbots inflate a streamer’s numbers with fake viewers, and Twitch’s Head of Community says the follow data was helping bot operators make fake accounts look real.
Why some people are annoyed
TOS.gg’s Zach Bussey says he understands the change if it’s safety-driven, since new accounts can be more exposed to malicious whispers. But he argues the feature was a useful signal for judging chat behavior and for deciding who to gift subs to, and calls it a loss.
Some viewers also believe the change helps viewbots hide more openly and blocks third-party monitoring of fraudulent viewers. That is community reaction, not something Twitch has confirmed.
Part of a pattern
The article notes Twitch has steadily cut visibility features, including Friends lists, public Following Lists and API access to who a user follows.
Another September change flagged by badgebase: the “Feature This Clip” and “Clip Visibility” toggles are gone, so every clip is now discoverable when created. Twitch gave no announcement or reason, per that roundup’s source.
What happens next
Nothing suggests Twitch plans to bring the feature back for viewers. If you moderate a channel, you still have the data.
The September scorecard
Per badgebase’s roundup, September also brought live GIFs in chat for Tier 2 and Tier 3 subs, clip caption editing, and a test of a 150-character personal message at sub checkout. In the last days of September, shared streams’ combined views stopped counting toward directory sorting by viewers, and Twitch let people go live from a browser without OBS. Twitch also removed the “Just Catting” category. Safety and anti-fraud moves sit right next to the fun stuff, which is why this one was easy to miss.
Poll
Hiding Following Since: smart or annoying?
Your reaction?
Receipts
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