Make email verification mandatory
With the ongoing outbreaks of follow and hate bots "raids", the creation of multiple accounts is simply too easy to abuse on the platform. Creating an account on Twitch does not require an authentic email address before using its services: watching content, following a streamer, sending messages in streamers chats, modifying the account details, etc.
Many streamers are being harrassed by bots and "IP Grabbers" by:
- Mass following streamers with inappropriate names and account details;
- Mass spamming chats with obscene languages and characters (ex: racism, homophobia, transphobia, nazi, etc..);
- Having extensions on their user profile which allows them to grab the IP Address of Twitch users, and broadcasting them.
At the moment, when creating an account, you do not need an authentic email address and you are not required to verify the account since there is a function to verify at a later time with "Remind me later" (Example of account creation: https://youtu.be/1waYtIUHkz4)
My proposition is the following:
Before using any of Twitch services, the account must be verified by email, and there should not be any way to by-pass this verification process. To sign-up to Twitch, the user should be inserting their email address, in which a one-time registration link could be sent out to.
Doing this will slow down the creation of fake accounts used to mass follow & mass hate streamers.

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Kiralushia commented
this should be already the norm!!
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Bass_PHOX commented
I completely agree
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TamachaamaTwitch commented
that's the thing we must need! +999 of you! we have any twitch worker gonna look that.
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Beardlyson commented
Absolute no brainer, unsure why this isn't one of the very first steps when using Twitch to begin with!
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2barkybark commented
So necessary!!!
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sleeepwaalker commented
The absolute bare minimum Twitch could do! The fact it isn’t already mandatory blows my mind yet any other platform on the internet it is - insanity!! Start protecting your content creators Twitch
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theempathiccub commented
This is the bare minimum in easily implemented steps they could take to help curb hate raids and mass bot follows. Email verification is the standard on so many sites now, this isn't asking for much. Vote yes!
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ClementineKuLayd commented
Yes ! Yes ! I 100% agree make this mandatory !!!!!!
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zardattack commented
The fact this isn't mandatory already is so baffling to me when as others have said it's mandatory on MOST websites.
It would just be common sense to make it so people can't follow or comment without a verified email at the very least. -
thetrace360 commented
Twitch needs to put the safety of their streamers over their money and make this mandatory. It's sad that it has to be a suggestion. Also, why is it that you can make multiple accounts with the same email address? It should be one account per email address and you should have to verify that account (possibly two factor identification) in order to do anything but watch streams.
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MamaTamago commented
it's wild that this needs to be a suggestion when it's the default on so many sites. We need this implemented NOW
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Stoneyspartan commented
This is mandatory on so many sites. This should've been a no brainer for them.
Plus echoing what Cypheroftyr has said, adding CAPTCHA would be immensely helpful.
I think they really should add 2FA as well. It would greatly curb the creation of bots. Hopefully that is!
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cypheroftyr commented
This plus CAPTCHA and/or making it so you can't make multiple accounts from the same email address.
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itsTealyxo commented
It’s so wild that this even needs to be suggested in 2021. This needs to be implemented immediately. Not only will it stop hate raids it will save Twitch a lot of time in dealing with any bot accounts in the future
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aylilgiraffe commented
Also, for this to work well only one account per email
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EthanPlaysLive commented
Please make this happen.
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Kabopat commented
The number of other services that do this is very high, so there is no reason Twitch should not also meet this very simple security standard that can help reduce the number of bots accounts on the platform
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xZech_ commented
I approve.