How to Completely Disable Your Twitch Account
Twitch doesn’t provide users with an option to completely delete their data, but it does allow for the disabling of accounts, which is the next best thing. Disabling a Twitch account removes it from the public Twitch service. Users can no longer log in to it, and it is no longer discoverable in searches or by direct visits. Important information can be changed manually or deleted by a user before disabling the account so even though the Twitch profile isn’t completely deleted from the Twitch database, all the personal information can be.
Before You Disable Your Twitch Account
Disabling a Twitch account can be done quickly but before you do so, there are some things you should do first.
Inform your followers or anyone you are hosting: If you’re a Twitch streamer and you’re planning on disabling your account, it’s a good idea to inform your viewers in a broadcast in the days leading up to the big day. Make sure to mention when your last broadcast will be and also refer your followers to your other social accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook so that they can stay in touch with you. If you’re switching to another streaming site, such as YouTube, ask your viewers to follow or subscribe to those new accounts. Disconnect your other accounts: One of the cool things about Twitch is that it can connect to other social networks like Twitter and Facebook and additional gaming services such as Xbox, Steam, and Battle.net. It’s highly recommended to break the connection to all of these third-party services before disabling your Twitch account so that you can connect them to any new accounts you create in the future. To disconnect these services, go to your settings page and click on the connections tab. This takes you to a list of connected services that you can disconnect by clicking on the green tick next to their names. Delete personal information: Because Twitch doesn’t fully delete your account, it’s a good idea to go into your account settings (via the drop-down menu in the top-right corner) and remove any important information that you want to protect, such as your real name and bio information. It’s also recommended to view your channel (from the same menu) and remove all of your custom widgets and links to the various donation services that you may have added.
How to Enable a Disabled Twitch Account
There isn’t a way to manually enable a disabled Twitch account. However, you can do it by emailing Twitch Support. Support usually replies to requests within seven days.
Reasons to Disable Your Twitch Account
While completely disabling a Twitch account can appear a little extreme, there are several legitimate reasons why some users choose to do so instead of just not logging in anymore. Here are three of the more common ones.
Quitting Twitch: Some users simply decide to stop using Twitch. This can be due to a loss of interest in streaming altogether or even motivated by a shift to a rival streaming service such as YouTube. Multiple Twitch accounts: Some Twitch users may have created different channels for different audiences (e.g. one for streaming Super Mario Bros video games and another for artwork creation) and now prefer to focus on one or consolidate the two. Too many social accounts: In addition to potentially having more than one Twitch channel, users can feel that they’re using too many social networks in general and may want to cut back. We’ve all had friends who dramatically announce their departure from Facebook. The same thing happens on other social networks like Twitch.
Why You Shouldn’t Disable Your Account
It may be tempting to disable your Twitch account but there are also several things to consider before doing so.
