Twitch removes "shoutout" sub refunds following streamer backlash

A few days ago, Twitch streamer TalesOfTiny drew attention to a brand new option Twitch has introduced for viewers who are requesting subscriptions refunds.

When users want to refund their subscription, they are presented with several options to choose from as a reason for their refund request.

And while these options are purely for the purpose of collecting data, TalesOfTiny discovered that Twitch has added "just to get a shoutout" as one of the options given, which sparked an overwhelmingly negative reaction in the streaming community.

Twitch: we are doing our best to protect our streamers from trolls

Also Twitch: here ya go trolls, here's another zero cost way to troll the streamer

And yes, I confirmed it works. It's not just a jebait option. I got a refund

One step forward, two steps back pic.twitter.com/XRyDMd4P7j

— Sidequest | Tiny 🌈 (@TalesOfTiny) March 8, 2021

Streamers saw this as an official encouragement from Twitch for people to troll streamers without consequences, as now they have an option that basically justifies their trolling.

Whenever a streamer gets a new sub, they usually personally express gratitude to that viewer in addition to often being visually present on the stream, for example, on a list of the latest subscribers.

(Picture: Twitch)

And while the reasoning behind this new option might be to simply collect data and to better understand which percentage of refunds is due to this reason, it still essentially institutionalize "shoutout" as a valid reason for refunds, which is far from being ideal, and the streaming community was rightfully worried.

A few days after the conversation about this option started, Twitch has responded to the community's concerns.

This info is used to improve the subscription experience for creators and subscribers. We did not intend to make it seem like we are encouraging this behavior, and based on community feedback, we are removing the “shoutout” option.

— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) March 10, 2021

"This info is used to improve the subscription experience for creators and subscribers," Twitch responded. "We did not intend to make it seem like we are encouraging this behaviour"

Twitch explained that "a limited refund window" was added to protect customers from accidental purchases, and that the list of cancellation reasons was introduced in 2018 to help Twitch understand viewers' refunds better.

• Read more: Twitch "Brand Safety Score" rating: How it works and how it impacts streamers?

Ultimately, Twitch understands that the "shoutout" option might have a severely negative impact and can encourage trolls, so they have decided to listen to community feedback and remove this option.