How to Protect Yourself from Raids and Toxic Viewers

Streaming is not only a way to share your content and interact with the audience, but also a high-attention zone. With the growing popularity of Twitch, YouTube Live, and other platforms, streamers increasingly face negativity, spam, hate, and so-called toxic raids.

In 2025, the problem of online toxicity becomes especially relevant. To maintain a positive atmosphere and reputation, it is important to know how to protect your channel from raids and toxic viewers. This article will detail effective protection methods, moderation tools, and rules of conduct in such situations.

What Are Raids and Toxic Viewers

Definition of a "Raid"

On Twitch and other streaming platforms, a raid refers to a situation where one streamer sends their viewers to another channel. This can be a friendly form of support — a "positive raid" — or a negative attack aimed at spamming, insulting, and provoking.

A toxic raid is a coordinated attack by a group of viewers intended to disrupt the stream, cause stress, violate platform rules, or provoke the streamer into responding.

Who Are Toxic Viewers

Toxic viewers are users who break chat rules: they spread insults, spam, post links to prohibited content, or provoke other participants. Sometimes they act individually, and sometimes as part of an organized group.

Why It’s Important to Protect Yourself

The consequences of raids and toxic attacks can be serious:

Loss of reputation and audience;

Temporary channel suspension for violating platform rules;

Emotional burnout of the streamer;

Reduced activity of regular viewers due to an unpleasant atmosphere.

Therefore, timely protection and toxicity prevention is not just a recommendation, but a necessary part of channel management.

Security Settings on Twitch

1. Automatic Moderation (AutoMod)

The AutoMod feature automatically checks all messages in chat and blocks those containing prohibited words, insults, or suspicious links.

You can adjust the filter level:

Level 1 — minimal filtering;

Level 2–3 — medium protection;

Level 4 — maximum strict moderation.

AutoMod can be enabled in the channel dashboard (Dashboard → Settings → Moderation).

2. "Subscribers-Only" and "Followers-Only" Modes

If a large number of suspicious accounts suddenly join the stream, enable Subscribers-only mode or Followers-only chat.

Only users subscribed to the channel or following for a certain period will be able to chat. This significantly reduces the risk of mass spam and attacks.

3. Slow Mode

Slow Mode allows limiting the frequency of messages from users. For example, you can set a 10–15 second interval between messages. This is effective during mass attacks or raids when chat is flooded with spam.

4. Bans and Timeouts

Every moderator or the streamer can issue timeouts or ban users for violations. If someone posts toxic comments, a temporary block will cool them down.

For repeat offenders, use permanent bans. Twitch allows adding such accounts to a blacklist so they cannot return to the channel.

Protecting Against Raids

1. Adjust Raid Settings

Twitch allows you to control who can raid your channel. To limit access, open channel settings and select:

Allow raids only from friends and trusted channels;

Completely block raids from unknown users;

Add specific channels to a whitelist that you trust.

This helps avoid unexpected attacks from unfamiliar streamers.

2. Enable Username Filtering

Some toxic raids use fake accounts with offensive names. To protect yourself, enable username filtering or use a bot that automatically blocks suspicious accounts when they enter the chat.

3. Use Moderators and Chat Bots

A good team of moderators is your main shield. Appoint several responsible people to monitor chat, block violators, and manage bots.

Popular chat bots for protection:

Nightbot — spam filtering and command management;

Moobot — warning and ban system;

StreamElements Bot — protection from links and mass messages.

Set up bots to automatically respond to key phrases and insults.

How to Act During a Raid

If a toxic raid starts during the stream, the main thing is to stay calm and not react to provocation.

Step-by-step actions:

Activate Subscribers-only mode or Slow Mode;

Inform moderators to start issuing timeouts and blocks;

Do not argue with violators;

Document the incident — take screenshots or save the stream recording;

Report to Twitch support, specifying the date, time, and usernames of the raid participants.

Preventing Toxic Viewer Behavior

1. Set Clear Rules

Create a panel or separate section with chat rules. Briefly state what is prohibited: spam, insults, politics, advertising. Clear rules help viewers understand the boundaries of acceptable communication.

2. Create a Positive Community

Foster a friendly atmosphere. Answer questions, support positive participants, thank subscribers. When the audience feels respected, toxicity levels decrease.

3. Use Warnings

If a viewer breaks the rules for the first time, give a warning instead of a ban. This gives a chance to correct behavior and retain a loyal participant.

4. Monitor Your Reactions

Toxic viewers often aim to provoke an emotional response. Stay neutral, do not raise your tone, and avoid reacting to provocations. The calmer you are, the faster violators lose interest.

Additional Security Tools

Shield Mode — a Twitch feature that allows enabling enhanced channel protection with one click;

Verified Chat — allows only users with verified email or phone to chat;

Safe User Lists — create a list of trusted viewers allowed to chat without restrictions.

Conclusion

Stream safety is not a luxury, but a necessity. Toxic raids and aggressive viewers can undermine motivation and damage the reputation of even an experienced streamer.

To protect yourself, combine Twitch technical tools with smart moderation and calm behavior. Set up filters, use AutoMod and Shield Mode, build a reliable team of moderators, and maintain a positive atmosphere.

A professional streamer is not only a content creator but also a manager of their own community. Control your channel environment, and viewers will return not only for the content but also for pleasant interaction.