What is Twitch?
Description: Twitch is one of the most popular live-streaming services. Users can watch their favorite streamers play video games, talk about politics, commentate on sports, host unique events, and be exposed to a large portion of LIVE content.
Category: Photo & Video
App Store rating: (Our opinion is that this app should be rated 17+)
- Apple: 12+ (Infrequent/Mild Profanity, Crude Humor, Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Realistic Violence,Horror/Fear Themes, Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References, Simulated Gambling, Contests, and Frequent/Intense Mature/Suggestive Themes)
- Google Play: Teen
To get a glimpse of what Twitch is like, check out the 2023 Streamer Awards (like the Oscars, but for streamers)
What do Parents Need to Know about Twitch?
Twitch briefly allowed nudity. On December 13, 2023, Twitch announced an update for sexual content and content classification labels. Essentially, this update allowed streamers to show “fictional” nudity for the sake of creative freedom and the growing artist communities on Twitch. While there might have been creators with true artistic intentions, this policy change was massively abused, specifically by the use of AI. But even without AI, Twitch simply went too far, deciding that popular, sexual dances were allowed without a content warning label. After two days, Twitch reversed their decision in another Sexual Content Policy Update on December 15:
“Upon reflection, we have decided that we went too far with this change. Digital depictions of nudity present a unique challenge–AI can be used to create realistic images, and it can be hard to distinguish between digital art and photography.
So, effective today, we are rolling back the artistic nudity changes. Moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed on Twitch, regardless of the medium.”
