Dexerto
Twitch has introduced parental controls that allow guardians to stop their teenage children from streaming or privately messaging other users, six years after Dr Disrespect’s infamous ban.
The optional tools are available for accounts belonging to users between the ages of 13 and 17. Once linked, parents can manage their teen’s Twitch experience through a new dashboard.
Twitch says teens must invite a parent or guardian to connect their accounts. Either person can also unlink the accounts at any time, meaning the restrictions cannot be permanently enforced by a parent.
Today, we’re launching Parental Controls as an optional tool that allows parents and guardians to manage the Twitch experience of their teens ages 13-17 with key settings:
📺 Manage visibility of certain content via CCLs
🎥 Prevent from going live
📬 Disable DMs (Whispers)
⏱️… pic.twitter.com/nraVrP2vVl— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) July 21, 2026
Twitch parental controls can disable streaming and Whispers
Through Twitch’s new Family Center, parents can prevent teens from going live and disable Whispers, blocking them from sending or receiving private messages.
Guardians can also set daily time limits across every device and control which streams appear in searches and recommendations. Content carrying labels such as Gambling, Mature-Rated Games, and Sexual Themes can all be restricted.
Parents will receive a weekly email summarizing their teen’s activity, including which channels they watched and how many hours they spent on Twitch.
Accounts will automatically unlink from their parent or guardian once the user turns 18. Twitch said the controls are optional “at this time” and that it could introduce more features in the future.
Instagram/DrDisrespect
The ability to disable Whispers is particularly notable given the feature’s role in one of Twitch’s biggest controversies.
Dr Disrespect, real name Guy Beahm, was permanently banned from Twitch in 2020. Four years later, he confirmed that the ban was due to inappropriate Whispers he exchanged with a minor in 2017.
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He would later accuse Twitch of orchestrating the ban and “cherry-picking” out-of-context excerpts from the messages to justify removing him from the platform.
