How to Turn Off the Twitch Chat Filter (Desktop and Mobile)

If messages in Twitch chat keep turning into rows of symbols or vanishing, you've probably got a chat filter switched on. It's a personal setting, and it's easy to forget you turned it on, or that it was on from the start. Viewers, streamers and moderators all run into it.

I've followed Twitch's own help article on chat for this one. Menu names can shift a little between the website and the mobile apps, so if a label is slightly different, go for the nearest match.

What the Twitch chat filter does

Twitch describes the filter as local filtering. It's a setting on your account for what you personally see in chat. Twitch says it doesn't affect what other users in the chat see. So if you turn it off, you change your own view and nobody else's.

That matters for anyone running a channel. A viewer's filter doesn't act as moderation for your community. Your own channel's rules, mods and AutoMod are separate things set by the streamer, and I'll point to my moderation guides further down.

Turning off the Twitch chat filter on desktop

1. Open any Twitch channel and make sure you're signed in.
2. Click the settings cog in the chat area to open Chat Settings.
3. Find the Chat Filters section.
4. Switch off Enable Filtering in Chat.
5. Send or read a few messages to check that nothing is being hidden.

Twitch says that toggling Enable Filtering in Chat switches local filtering on or off for all chat channels across Twitch. One switch covers everything, so you don't need to repeat it channel by channel.

Turning off the Twitch chat filter in the mobile app

Twitch's article is written around the same chat settings cog, and Twitch says chat is available on the mobile apps and mobile web as well. Open a channel, open the chat settings from the cog, and look for the same Chat Filters option. The layout may look a little different from the desktop site, and I can't promise every app version offers identical screens, so follow the closest labels.

Switching off only some Twitch chat filters

You don't have to turn everything off. Twitch says you can customise the filtering by toggling individual filters on or off, and it names Discrimination and Profanity as examples. That's handy if you want to keep one type of filtering and relax another.

• Keep Enable Filtering in Chat on, then switch off the one filter you don't want.
• Or turn the main switch off if you want an unfiltered view of everything.
• Come back to the same menu later to change your mind, because it's your own setting.

Twitch chat filter and channels where you're a moderator

Twitch notes that filtering won't occur in channels where you're a channel moderator. If you mod a channel, you'll see messages unfiltered there, even when the main switch is on. That's why a mod's view of a channel can differ from a regular viewer's.

If you're considering adding someone to your team, my guide to adding a mod on Twitch explains how to do it. For dealing with a specific person, see banning someone on Twitch and blocking someone on Twitch.

Why messages still look hidden after you turn the Twitch chat filter off

If you've switched the filter off and chat still looks strange, here are the sensible things to check:

1. Confirm you're signed in. Twitch says you must be signed in to take part in chat.
2. Check you changed the setting in the browser you're using. Twitch says appearance changes don't persist between browsers, so look at the setting again if you swap browsers.
3. Refresh the page or restart the app.
4. Look at Pause Chat in the same settings. Chat pauses when you scroll by default, so messages may seem to have stopped when they haven't.
5. Remember that streamers can control their own channel's chat. Twitch says channels can control who can use chat through various settings, so a quiet chat isn't always a filter problem.

If a message you sent didn't appear, Twitch says you should get an error telling you why it wasn't sent, so look out for that.

Other Twitch chat settings worth knowing about

While you're in the cog menu, there are a few other options Twitch lists that change how chat feels:

• Font size, with four choices.
• Readable Colors, which adjusts hard-to-read username colours.
• Show timestamp, to display message times.
• Replies in chat, as a minimum or expanded view.
• Animated emotes, so you can switch animation off.

If you'd like to personalise your own side of chat further, my guide to adding emotes on Twitch covers the extras around your messages.

A note for streamers about the Twitch chat filter

If you stream, or look after a community channel for a brand, it's worth remembering the filter is personal. A viewer who switches it off will see more than a viewer who leaves it on, and neither choice changes what you or your mods have set for the channel. If a viewer says chat looks odd or empty, you can suggest they check Enable Filtering in Chat and the individual toggles.

Many creators like to pin a short message that tells new people where their chat settings live. It saves answering the same question every stream, and it tells viewers you care about their experience.

When to contact Twitch about chat filter problems

If you can't find Chat Filters at all, update the app or try the website. If a message is abusive, report it to Twitch, and if you ever feel unsafe because of a message you receive, contact the police. For problems with how the settings behave, Twitch Support is the right place to ask.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn off the chat filter on Twitch?

Open the chat settings cog, find Chat Filters and switch off Enable Filtering in Chat.

Does turning off my Twitch chat filter change what others see?

No. Twitch says these filters don't affect what other users in the chat see.

Can I turn off just one Twitch chat filter?

Yes. Twitch says you can toggle individual filters such as Discrimination and Profanity on or off.

Does the Twitch chat filter apply to every channel?

Twitch says Enable Filtering in Chat switches local filtering on or off for all chat channels across Twitch.

Why do I still see filtered chat in channels I moderate?

Twitch says filtering doesn't occur in channels where you're a channel moderator, so you see messages unfiltered there.

Is the chat filter the same as AutoMod?

No. The filter is your own personal setting. Channel-wide moderation tools are controlled by the streamer and their mods.