Twitch Tackles Viewbots, TikTok Viewer Wishes, ishowspeed America + Virtual Human Sales

Welcome to the last recap of August! Sorry, this is a bit later than usual! It was a significant week, marked by consequential stories for creators, particularly regarding Twitch's efforts to combat viewbotting. I had intended to include some analysis of those efforts in this recap, but it ended up being longer than the recap itself. Instead, I'll post it separately, alongside a YouTube video, so if you'd like to see that, please subscribe to my channel and keep an eye out for an article on TOS.gg. But for now, let's jump into the news!

🟪 TWITCH

• Twitch has implemented new viewbotting measures, resulting in a significant decrease in platform viewership (up to 24% less depending on the hour).
• A new simplified visualization of your current moderation settings is in testing.
• Curious about what your AutoMod settings will catch? Twitch will be launching an AutoMod Testing tool.
• Twitch will soon indicate Chat Bots invited by the streamer with a new badge and label.
• A "Touch Grass" badge was available between August 21 and 24 if you downloaded an IRL clip.
• Twitch shut down all monetization in Kenya.
• The Channel Switcher, which was deprecated earlier this month, is being tested as a Clips Browser. This is the second time... they tested it with Clips in 2023.
• I made a SUBtember Offer Flow. It may seem more complicated than it is, but it's just a series of yes-no questions.
• Twitch now encourages users, through support articles and the mobile app, to subscribe in a mobile browser to save money.

🟥 YOUTUBE

• YouTube is testing a Combined Stream Dashboard for both Horizontal and Vertical streams.
• YouTube is significantly expanding its Effect Maker tool.
• YouTube is testing low-quality downloads without requiring a YouTube Premium subscription.

⬛ TIKTOK

• On September 15th, TikTok is splitting Subscriptions into two products. Live "Super Fan" subs will increase to $10 after a three-month grace period.
• TikTok Live is testing "Viewer Wishes," which allows viewers to spend money in exchange for performing specific actions during live streams.
• Physical stores are integrating broadcast space for TikTok Shop in the USA.
• TikTok Web is becoming available in India for the first time since 2021.
• China will not be selling TikTok's algorithm to the US.

🟦 DISCORD & TWITTER X

• Discord and NVIDIA are working together to bring cloud gaming directly to Discord.
• You can now select video quality on mobile devices on Twitter.

🔲 OTHERS

• Kick added information about their DSA Compliance.