Written by Dante Uzel on 04 April 2025 09:51
According to an exclusive article by Dexerto, Twitch has been billing users for recurring subscriptions to channels of permanently banned streamers, a practice that directly contradicts the platform’s own policies. The issue was brought to light in March 2025 when a banned streamer, who chose to remain anonymous, disclosed to Dexerto that they continued receiving payouts from their subscribers, even though their channel had been completely inaccessible following an indefinite ban.
This discovery raises concerns over Twitch’s enforcement of its own rules. According to the platform's policies, existing subscriptions to channels of banned streamers are supposed to be canceled. A Twitch help page on account enforcement clearly states: “If you are indefinitely suspended, you will not be able to utilize Twitch monetization tools during your suspension and existing recurring subscriptions to your channel will not renew.”
However, several cases have shown that banned streamers have continued to receive payouts, despite this policy. The earliest instance of this issue dates back to 2022. In a September 2022 X post, a then-permanently banned streamer known as Tempest complained about this situation, stating: “IDK how it’s even possible Twitch can ban me and still take 50% of revenue on a channel that they won’t unban but it’s quite literally robbing people.”
Further investigation revealed that other banned streamers, including SokkzVR and xJappa, were also still receiving payouts. After Dexerto contacted Twitch about the issue, both SokkzVR and xJappa had their indefinite bans lifted within 24 hours, raising questions about the platform’s responsiveness to such concerns.
The issue has not gone unnoticed by the Twitch community, either. On the platform’s ‘user voice’ page—designed for users to submit feedback—a number of users have expressed frustration over the continuation of subscriptions to banned channels. One user suggested in 2024, “When you ban a streamer, you should automatically refund, at least partially, anyone subscribed to said streamer.” Another comment from November 2022 read, “I think it is an absolute joke that you would collect a monthly sub fee from a suspended channel.”
The problem doesn’t stop with banned streamers. Article also uncovered a case where a streamer who had deleted their account continued to receive payments from subscribers, despite their account being removed more than 90 days earlier. Even after the account deletion, subscriber perks—such as custom emotes—remained active for those users.
Twitch has confirmed that, according to its policy, subscriptions to deleted or indefinitely suspended channels should indeed be canceled. However, Twitch acknowledged that such incidents appear to be “edge cases,” and the company is working to resolve these issues. In cases where subscriptions continue despite the ban or deletion, Twitch said users should be entitled to a refund.
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Tags: Twitch
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