Twitch is redesigning its mobile app for the first time since 2019. The Discovery feed will become the app’s new landing page, CEO Dan Clancy wrote in an open letter on Wednesday. An update expected later this year will also make it easier to share quick updates, including uploading short video stories from the mobile app.
“We’re redesigning the mobile app (the first major update since 2019) to give you a more modern, immersive experience by delivering the Discovery Feed as a new login experience within the app to all Twitch users viewing experience,” Clancy wrote. The Discover feed, currently only available as an “experiment” in the mobile app, shows real-time updates that mix streams from people you follow with recommended content.
Clancy said the mobile app will also add new features to encourage your followers to update quickly, including the ability to create and upload short video stories from your phone. Other new additions include pinch-zooming photos (better late than never?) and the ability to share portrait videos to Stories.
Twitch moderators using iPhones have something to look forward to, as the mobile app will include modding tools for the first time. Clancy said mobile tools that were previously desktop-only would be “flexible, easy to use and portable.” The company says the modding tool will be available for iOS later this year; it hasn’t yet resolved availability issues for Android.
In addition to the mobile app, other updates to Twitch in 2024 will include updated community guidelines. Clancy said the new rules include “clearer, updated definitions of harm, and tougher penalties for certain types of harassment.” The platform also plans to launch tools to help users better identify harassment, including Clancy A tool that claims to “stop more harassment before it appears in your chats.”
Finally, Twitch’s Clip Editor (which reportedly helps enable child exploitation on the platform) will soon make it easier to share content. Clancy said the feature will make it easier for creators and viewers to share clips to social channels, including the option to export directly to Instagram. Additionally, a major update to the mobile app will add a clip editor when it releases later this year.
