• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

For the first time since its initial launch in 2011, Twitch is introducing parental control features, which include the ability for guardians to block their teen’s ability to broadcast livestreams on the platform. 

In addition to content classification labels and default safety settings applied to teen accounts, Twitch is attempting to allow parents and guardians to have more power over what their teens -- age 13-17 -- are able to do on the platform.  

Parents can now create an account and link it with their teen’s account, giving them access to account-management features and a weekly email update regarding their teen’s on-platform activity.

Within the “Parental Controls” dashboard, guardians can toggle on and off various safety settings, with options to disable DMs, enact time limits, manage content recommendations, and even prevent their teen from going live and streaming their own content. 

Parents can find the designated dashboard in the Family Center’s Account Settings tab. When users turn 18 years old, their account will automatically unlink from their parent or guardian’s account. 

Depending on parents’ individual regulatory actions, interest level, and general understanding of the platform, teen users with sizable followings and a revenue stream revolving around livestreaming could be impacted by these changes, as well as any brands partnering with popular teen Twitch streamers.

In its announcement, Twitch says it is contemplating the development and rollout of additional parental control tools.