Twitch Addresses Allegations That Gifted Subscriptions Are Only Given to Bots

Twitch has recently addressed concerns regarding the distribution of gifted subscriptions, amid claims that these subscriptions are being allocated to bot accounts. Some streamers have reported noticing newly created profiles receiving these subscriptions.

For quite some time, the issue of viewbotting has been a significant topic of conversation within the Twitch community. However, it has gained heightened attention following recent events, especially as summer drew to a close.

In July, Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, announced a series of updates aimed at enhancing their capabilities to identify viewbots, bogus viewership, and other forms of artificial engagement. This announcement coincided with a notable 24% decline in Twitch’s overall viewership, marking a five-year low in August.

Many viewers alleged that gifted subscriptions began appearing in accounts that seemed suspiciously inactive. Streamer Quin69 particularly emphasized this issue, revealing that four out of five gifted subscriptions were directed to accounts that had only recently been created and lacked any activity history on Twitch. Alarmingly, many of these profiles were not even following Quin’s channel.

Twitch’s Stance on Gifted Subscriptions to Bots

While Quin69 proposed that there might be a glitch in the system, other streamers have also noticed similar occurrences of gifted subscriptions being granted to non-followers. In light of this, some speculate it could be an intentional adjustment made by Twitch.

Twitch firmly responded, stating, “Twitch does not intentionally target bot accounts for gifted subs. We actively work to remove bot accounts – not reward them.”

Source: Dexerto

According to the platform’s FAQs, they utilize an algorithm designed to select recipients of gifted subscriptions. This process starts with eligible viewers in chat, followed by followers, moderators, and various other factors aimed at identifying community members.

The algorithm is also engineered to prevent subscriptions from being awarded to trolls, and Twitch emphasizes that ongoing efforts are made to ensure genuine fans benefit from this feature.

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