Twitch introduces parental controls for teen accounts

Parents can now stop their teenagers going live on Twitch under new controls that also let them cap screen time and switch off private messaging. 

The optional controls allow parents and guardians to link their Twitch account with a 13-to-17-year-old’s account, letting them block livestreaming, set daily screen time limits, disable private messaging and manage some content recommendations. Guardians will also receive a weekly summary of their teen's activity.

Twitch said it will explore further controls over time. The new tools build on earlier safety measures, including labels warning viewers when a stream contains sensitive content, and default limits on who can send private messages to under-18s.

The update comes as major social media platforms face growing pressure from regulators and lawmakers to strengthen protections for young users.

A case brought by a Florida teenager identified as R.K.C. was among those scheduled for trial this week in Los Angeles as part of wider litigation accusing social media platforms of designing addictive features such as infinite scroll and autoplay. YouTube and TikTok settled in June, while Snap reached a tentative settlement this week.

On Wednesday, the case against Meta, the last remaining defendant, was dismissed after the plaintiff withdrew the claims without receiving payment. Meta said the allegations "never held up".

The litigation follows a separate bellwether case in March in which a jury ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million to a 20-year-old woman known as Kaley, finding the companies' platform design contributed to her mental health issues.

Unlike most major social platforms, Twitch's new controls allow parents to stop teenagers creating content altogether, rather than simply limiting what they can view.