How to Use the Friends Feature

We launched Friends to help viewers connect with one another, similar to the connections between creators and viewers. Today, we see the best viewer-to-viewer connections on Twitch happen when we experience live moments together on a creator’s channel, with very few viewers regularly using Friends to actively connect with each other. By deprecating this feature, we are able to further focus on building connections among communities while streamers are live.

The feature will be removed from the mobile app on May 16, and Twitch.tv on May 25, 2022. After that date, your Friends list and the ability to see which of your Friends are online will no longer be available.

If you block whispers from strangers in your privacy settings, anyone who is currently on your Friends list will lose the ability to send you whispers once the feature is removed. When you follow their account, they are no longer considered a stranger and can send you whispers in the future.

To follow your friends, head to your Friends list and click the Follow icon at the bottom left of each tile.

Finding your Twitch Friends is easy. Use the new search bar in the left hand navigation to locate your Friend and send a request. You will also see a list of recommended Friends for you based on who you have interacted with in the past so you can easily find the people on Twitch you interact with most.

Once your Twitch Friend accepts your request, you will be able to see when they are online and send a Whisper with just one click!

How to find and add a Friend

Use the new search bar in the left hand navigation bar to locate your friend on the left hand side navigation bar OR find your friend on the list of suggested Friends for you (based on who you have interacted with in the past or who are moderators on the same channel).
Hover over the username to open a profile card and click Add Friend to send a Friend request OR on the recommended Friends list, simply click the purple icon to add a Friend. To dismiss a recommendation, choose the X symbol instead to clear it.
Once your Twitch Friend accepts your request, you will be able to see when they are online and send a Whisper with just one click!

How to remove a Friend

Hover on the Friend in your Friends list that you wish to remove.
Click Unfriend on the profile card that appears.

How to appear offline

Click your online status on the profile tray in the top right corner of your screen.
Click Invisible to appear offline.

How to Find and add a Friend

Tap the Whispers icon in the top right to access your Whisper conversations.
From there, tap the + sign in the top right corner and type in the username to locate your Friend.
Tap the username to open a whisper conversation, and then tap the Friend icon to send a Friend request.
Once your Twitch Friend accepts your request, you will be able to see when they are online and send a Whisper with just one tap!

Tap and hold on the Friend in your conversations list that you wish to remove.
Tap Unfriend to remove the Friend (you can also Block the user from here).

How to appear offline

Tap your profile image in the top left corner of your screen.
Tap Set Presence from the menu.
Tap on Invisible

How to hide Whisper conversations

Tap any conversation on your Whisper conversation panel.
Tap the cog in the top right corner and tap Hide to hide the conversation from the conversation panel.

Activity Sharing allows Twitch users to easily and automatically broadcast their activity to their friends. As long as you and your friends are sharing your activities, you will be able to see which channels they are watching, broadcasting, or even what games they are playing in some cases, and vice versa.

If your friends have Activity Sharing turned on and are engaging in a supported activity, you can see their activities in the following places:

In the friend list (instead of their regular Online/Offline/Idle status)
In the profile card that appears when you hover over a friend in your friend list
In the header of a whisper conversation you have open with a friend

In all cases, clicking on a friend's activity will take you directly to where that friend is at! You can see your own activity in place of your regular Online/Offline/Idle status on the profile tray in the bottom left corner of your screen.

Sharing is on by default, but only to your friends. To turn it off, click on your activity or online status on the profile tray in the bottom left corner of your screen and uncheck the Share my activity option. Or set your status to Invisible, via the instructions in the sections above.

Another aspect of Activity Sharing are the messages you see in chat when a friend joins you. ("User x just started watching HeyGuys"). Only you will see these messages and it will respect the privacy settings you have, so they will not be shown to others if you have disabled Activity Sharing or have your status set to Invisible. VoHiYo and HeyGuys emotes are used in these messages since they are commonly used as friendly chat greetings, so it both reinforces that behavior and introduces newer users to it.

Can I cancel a friend request after I've already sent it?: Yes! You can do so either by clicking the Cancel Request button on the user's profile page, or by clicking the X button that appears when you search for the user's name from the friend list.
Are Friends different than Followers?: Yes. Since the release Whispers in 2015, the Twitch community sent 300 MILLION messages to each other. Friends was created to make Whispering even easier. Followers are other members who follow your channel, and are not on your Friends list.
How do I know if the person is already my Friend when searching the username directory?: If you are searching for a particular person, and many similar names come up in your search, simply hover your cursor over the username and if they are already your Friend, a little card will appear that says Friend.
How many Friends can I have?: There is currently a maximum of 500 Friends.
My request inbox will not be a distraction, will it?: On the requests box, there is a heading for People you may know, and Other for those you may not know. Requests are sorted with people you may know taking priority, to keep request notifications more organized and not feel overwhelming. For example, people you have already had Whisper conversations with will have their requests appear in your People you may know tab.
What factors determine recommended friends?: Recommended friends is based on people you may have interacted with, especially with Whispers.
What does the idle (orange light) status mean?: The idle status occurs when a user has been inactive for at least 10 minutes. The user still has their Twitch browser open but may be afk or otherwise unresponsive.

How to Use the Friends Feature