You have my shield: Twitch introduces new ‘Shield Mode’ safety feature

Twitch teased the unveiling of a new safety feature earlier this week during an update the platform gave on how it is attempting to mitigate hate raids on the platform. And today, Shield Mode has officially been activated.

The new tool appears for channel owners and their moderators as a shield icon below chat, and by activating it, users can quickly enable an extra layer of moderation to their channels as a way to combat flurries of toxicity from hate raids in a pinch.

“While it does introduce some entirely new capabilities (we’ll get to that), its real power comes from the way it combines and levels up existing safety tools in one place,” Twitch said in a blog post. “With Shield Mode, you can pre-set multiple safety settings that can be activated with a push of a button whenever higher protections may be necessary. These presets let you turbo-charge your safety settings in seconds if you’re receiving harassing messages in chat.”

Shield Mode has a handful of options, but perhaps the most important are ones that are new to the platform, the ability to bulk ban, and the ability to cut off first-time chatters. Previously, streamers had to throw their channel into follower-only or sub-only mode to prevent new users from chatting.

Meanwhile, Shield Mode will allow streamers to mass ban chatters who spam certain words or phrases. While some streamers will likely use the tool as a funny ploy to ban everyone who picks on them by calling them “bald,” the feature will find its best use in channels that are susceptible to hate raids based on their race, sexuality, or gender identity.

In a post to Twitter, the platform said the setting is “rolling out” today, but it did not specify in its blog post if Shield Mode will be immediately available to all streamers. To check for the feature, look for the shield icon in your channel’s chat. It can also be turned on and off with the commands “/shield” and “/shieldoff.”