On Wednesday, Twitch revealed its plans to restrict streamers to a maximum of 100 hours of highlights and uploaded videos. Channels exceeding this limit will face automatic deletions of their content. The decision aims to address the ineffectiveness of highlights in boosting viewer discovery and engagement, alongside the high costs of data storage. This new limit is set to take effect on April 19.
The restrictions will affect highlights—short clips derived from previous broadcasts—as well as other uploaded materials.
However, this new policy will not alter the status of clips or past broadcasts (VODs), the latter of which are already subject to automatic deletion after a specified time frame.
Twitch’s announcement coincides with Facebook’s recent decision to retain live videos on its platform for only 30 days before deletion. The social media giant is also planning to phase out past broadcasts in the near future.
Initially, Twitch introduced highlights to assist streamers in creating compilations of their most memorable moments, but the platform has since identified other features—like Clips, Tags, and the Mobile Discovery Feed—as more effective for enhancing viewer engagement and discovery.
“Despite being less effective, some users have accumulated thousands of hours of Highlights and Uploads (frequently utilized for highlight creation) over time,” the company stated in a blog post.
“The expense of storing this content is significant. By implementing this 100-hour storage limit, which impacts fewer than 0.5% of active Twitch channels and accounts for less than 0.1% of total viewing hours, we can better allocate resources, sustain support for Highlights and Uploads, and continue to invest in developing new features and enhancing more effective engagement tools like Clips and the mobile feed.”
In response to the announcement, some streamers have voiced their frustration on social media, with many highlighting the fact that Twitch is backed by Amazon, a leader in cloud services with its AWS platform.
For streamers whose channels exceed the limit after this deadline, highlights and uploads will be automatically removed, starting with those that have the fewest views. Twitch is advising users to download or export their content before the deadline approaches.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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