Guide to Cheering with Bits

Bits are a virtual good you can buy on Twitch that give you the power to encourage and show support for streamers, get attention in chat through animated emoticons, get recognition through badges, leaderboards, and acknowledgement from the streamer, and even unlock loot during special esports events like Overwatch League Cheering. Bits also allow you to chat in Sub Only chat rooms. Keep some on hand so you can join the conversation anytime you want!

Cheering with Bits shows support for streamers and celebrates the moments you love with the community, all right in chat. A Cheer is a chat message that uses Bits. Bits emotes can be used one by one, all at once, or anywhere in between. Using many at once shows more support and creates cooler animated emotes.

Cheering shows your support for the Partner or Affiliate just like subscriptions do, and as you Cheer in a channel, you earn Cheer Chat Badges for that channel so that your support is recognized. Your Cheer Chat Badge lasts indefinitely but will only appear in the channel where you earned it.

Cheering is now available to Twitch channels worldwide, so all Twitch Partners and Affiliates regardless of where they live can enable Cheering on their channels. Cheer settings are located in the Dashboard > Affiliate / Partner Settings > Bits & Cheering.

We are actively working on local payment methods and currencies to support global audiences, but currently Bits may be purchased via Amazon and PayPal payments. It should be noted that international transaction fees may apply in addition to the price of Bits.

So go celebrate amazing moments, show support for streamers, and be recognized!

On this page:

 * Cheering: for Partners and Affiliates
 * Bits Threshold Settings
 * Bits Chat Badge Settings
 * Cheermotes Settings
 * Top Cheerer Settings
 * Cheering: for Viewers
 * How to buy Bits for Cheering
 * Bits Auto-refill
 * How to get Bits Without Spending (Bits for Ads)
 * How to Cheer
 * Anonymous Cheering
 * Cheering on Mobile
 * Cheering: for Moderators
 * Frequently Asked Questions

CHEERING: FOR PARTNERS AND AFFILIATES
Cheering is automatically enabled for all new Affiliates and Partners.

Cheer settings are located in the Dashboard > Affiliate/Partner Settings > Bits & Cheering.

BITS THRESHOLD SETTINGS
Set the minimum number of Bits needed to send a Cheer message in your channel. For example, if you choose 30, viewers will not be able to send a Cheer message with 29 or fewer Bits. They will need to use at least 30 Bits, either in a single emote, or by combining emotes that add up to at least 30 Bits.

Then, set the smallest Bit Emote that can be used in your channel. For example, if you choose 100, viewers cannot use the gray 1 - 99 Bit Emote and can only Cheer with the purple 100 Bit Emote or higher.

To reduce spam, you can set minimum Bits per message and minimum Bits per Bit emoticon above the default of 1. We recommend starting with the default settings for both and gradually adjust after experiencing how your chat uses Cheering, but larger channels may want higher minimums at the start.

CHEER BADGE SETTINGS
Choose which Cheer Chat Badges are enabled in your channel. Viewers unlock badges based on total Bits used to Cheer for you. The highest unlocked enabled badge will appear next to viewers' names. All badges are on by default, but you can choose which chat badges your channel supports. For more information on Cheer Badges see our Custom Bit Badges article.

CHEERMOTES SETTINGS
Add Custom Cheermotes that your viewers can use while Cheering. Cheermotes are exclusive to your channel and add to the customizable Cheering experience. For more information on Cheermotes, see our Cheermote Guide.

TOP CHEERER SETTINGS
Display a list of the top weekly, monthly or all time Cheerers at the top of chat on your channel page to show that extra love to the viewers that Cheer to you. For more information on Top Cheerer Settings, see our Leaderboards Guide.

Post something on your channel page so viewers know you now accept Cheers. Make it fun! The more fun you make it the more your viewers will want to use it. Cheering with Bits is an interactive chat feature that brings viewers and broadcasters closer. Talk to your viewers about what they would like to do or see with Cheering in your channel. Develop how Bits are used as a community!

HOW TO BUY BITS FOR CHEERING
On our desktop website:

You must be logged in to your Twitch account to buy Bits.

There are two places on the channel page where you can purchase:


 * 1) Through the Get Bits button: Click Get Bits in the upper right corner of the video player, select the Bits bundle you want to purchase, and follow the instructions.
 * 2) Through the Bits icon at the bottom of chat: First, click on the Bits icon that appears in the chat message window, just to the left of the Emoticon button, on any channel that has Cheering enabled.

Click Buy and select the bundle of Bits you wish to purchase:Then choose your desired payment method. We currently accept payments via Amazon payments and PayPal. After selecting a payment method you will be asked to log in and authorize the payment.

Click Continue to review your purchase before clicking Pay Now to process the transaction: Once your purchase is successful, your Bits are immediately available for use! Your account is limited to an inventory of 250,000 Bits at any one time, and you can only buy a maximum of approximately 500,000 Bits per day. You can toggle your Cheering badge off and on using the badge selection tool in the chat cog.

BITS AUTO-REFILL
You can enable Bits Auto-refill to ensure that you always have enough Bits to support those hype moments. To enable Bits Auto-refill, your account must have 2FA enabled. If you do not, you will be prompted to enable it. You can enable 2FA here. When you enable Bits Auto-refill,we automatically refill your Bits balance when it goes below a threshold you specify.

Please follow these steps:


 * 1) Click on Setup Auto-refill button in the purchase confirmation screen after making a Bits purchase. This will take you to the Bits Auto-Refill settings page.
 * 2) You can also directly visit your Bits Auto-Refill settings.
 * 3) Select the Bits balance threshold at which you want to trigger Bits Auto-refill. Next select the Bits bundle you want to purchase when your Bits balance hits that threshold. You can only select a Bits bundle that is equal to or greater than the Bits balance threshold that you specify.  For example, if you enable Bits Auto-refill using the settings shown in the above screen then we will refill your Bits balance with 1500 Bits when your Bits balance goes below 1500 Bits.
 * 4) Enter the payment method of your choice. Note that we do not support Bits Auto-refill on mobile devices.
 * 5) Review your settings and the subtotal amount. Additional taxes may apply. Click Authorize Payment when you are ready. You will see the following screen when Bits Auto-refill is successfully enabled. You will also receive an email to confirm your Bits Auto-refill settings.

To edit your Bits Auto-refill settings:

 * 1) Visit your Bits Auto-Refill Settings to see your current Auto-refill settings.
 * 2) Click Edit Auto-refill and make any changes you want to your current settings.
 * 3) Click Save changes once you are done. You will receive an email to confirm your updated Bits Auto-refill settings.

To disable your Bits Auto-refill settings:

 * 1) Visit your Bits Auto-Refill Settings to see your current Auto-refill settings.
 * 2) Click “Disable Auto-refill” to cancel Bits Auto-refill.
 * 3) Your Bits Auto-refill settings will be canceled and you will see the following screen. If you change your mind, you can always re-enable Bits Auto-refill.
 * 4) You will receive an email confirming Bits Auto-refill has been disabled for your account.

In some circumstances, Twitch might have to disable Auto-refill due to a payment failure. If this happens, we will reach out via email that we were unable to process your payment and we disabled Bits Auto-refill.

At any time, you can visit this page to see the current status of your Bits Auto-refill settings.

HOW TO GET BITS WITHOUT SPENDING (BITS FOR ADS)
Twitch viewers in the U.S. can earn Bits without spending cash by watching short ads on our desktop website.

HOW IT WORKS: DESKTOP WEBSITE
Bits for Ads is available on our desktop website only for viewers in the US.

Make sure you are logged in to your Twitch account.

Go to any channel where Bits are activated.


 * 1) Click on the Bits icon in the chat entry window.
 * 2) Click the Get Bits button at the bottom of the menu.
 * 3) If you are eligible to watch an ad for Bits, you will see a button at the top that says Watch Ad. Click this button.
 * 4) This should launch a short video ad. Watch to completion. Occasionally you may be asked to complete a short survey instead of watching an ad to receive Bits.
 * 5) When complete, you will get a notification that you have earned Bits. It may take a short while for those Bits to appear in your inventory.

HOW TO CHEER
Once you have purchased Bits, exiting the purchase flow will automatically return you to the Cheer-enabled channel. There are 2 ways to initiate a Cheer.


 * 1) Click the Bits icon in the chat entry window. Select the Cheermote you wish to use. This can be the original gem Cheermotes, a custom Partner Cheermote, or one of several Cheermotes based on popular global emotes.
 * 2) Then select the number of Bits you want to use from the menu, or edit the message to type in a custom amount of Bits

If you don’t want to use the Cheermote menu to initiate a Cheer, you can simply type cheer into chat and any number anywhere in your chat message, or multiple times within the same message, and the original Bits gemcool animated emotes Emoticons will appear with your message.

For example: cheer1000 There are a variety of different Bits emotes Emoticons to choose from:

For example, if you type: cheer100 Love your stream! , your message will appear like this:

Do not worry, if you type cheer1000 or more by mistake and hit enter, a countdown timer allows you 5 seconds to click Cancel before it will appear in chat:

Choose from many cool Cheer emotes, including global Cheermotes!

Yes, you can now Cheer with animated Kappa, Kreygasm, Swiftrage, 4Head, PJSalt, MrDestructoid, TriHard, NotLikeThis, FailFish, and VoHiYo with many more.

To Cheer with Kappa, just type Kappa and the number of Bits you want to use, e.g. Kappa5000. An animated version of the Kappa emote will appear in chat. The higher the number of Bits, the cooler and more expressive the animation.

ANONYMOUS CHEERING
You also have the option to cheer anonymously. To do this, select the Cheer Anonymously option in the Cheer card, and use the Anonymous Cheer Cheermote!

All Anonymous Cheers will appear as a cheer from AnAnonymousCheerer, and all channel Cheering minimums still apply. The ghost badge that appears next to your cheer is only for AnAnonymousCheerer, and cannot be earned.

A couple notes about Anonymous Cheering: They cannot contain emotes or messages, and will not impact your Bits Badges or standing on the Top Cheerer Leaderboard.

CHEERING ON MOBILE
Cheering on Mobile is now available and works much the same way that it works on the web. Simply press the Bits icon in the chat box and select the amount of Bits and preferred icon to go along with your chat message, and then add your message.

Using random numbers works, but currently there is no difference in the Bit Emoticons within the same tier (but keep experimenting, this may change!). The max Bits per Emoticon is cheer10000, and the max Bits per chat message is 100,000 (to use more than 10,000 in one Cheer, use multiple Bit Emoticons in a single chat message).

CHEERING: FOR MODERATORS
Viewers will be able to give their chat messages more visibility with Cheering. As such, all Cheers appear in a chat, including when chat is in sub-only or slow mode, unless the viewer is banned or timed out.

However, all Cheer messages are fully moderatable. Channel owners and their moderators can ban or timeout any chat comment, even if it includes Bits. Note that bans and timeouts will delete the Cheer message as it would a chat message, but Bits that are used cannot be unused.

WAYS TO ENSURE UNWANTED CHEER MESSAGES ARE REMOVED:

 * All Cheer messages will follow banned words lists already in place (global and channel).
 * Banned and timed out users will not be able to use Bits to send Cheer messages.
 * You can also moderate Cheer messages or have your moderators do so for you in the same manner as regular chat messages. Remove by clicking on the user and selecting the timeout or ban symbol or by typing /clear to clear the chat and remove all messages from the chat room, /timeout USERNAME SECONDS  in the chat box to purge the message, or /ban USERNAME  to ban the user from the channel.
 * If overlays are used, the overlay provider may have a way for the broadcaster to dismiss Cheer messages or to preview these messages before they show up on stream.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 * What is the distinction between Bits and Cheering?
 * Bits are evolving, animated emoticons. Viewers buy and use Bits to Cheer. Cheers are chat messages that include Bits.


 * Why would I would I want to Cheer?
 * To show your support for the streamer, to interact in chat in a highly visible way, to celebrate when something cool happens, and to get recognition through Bits badges, leaderboards and acknowledgement from the streamer.


 * What are some of the benefits of Cheering?
 * Cheering is a way to react to moments and show support for broadcasters in the native language of chat. You can Cheer if you are a channel subscriber or if you are not. Cheering gives you access to Sub Only chat even if you’re not subscribed. You can Cheer using any number of Bits you like, whenever you want. Cheer to creatively celebrate, encourage, or show support along with the community. Start Cheering right when things get interesting, or Cheer when a moment is dying down to keep the train going. Plus, you can earn Cheer Chat Badges as you Cheer. Even if you are not the Cheering type, you can still benefit from Cheering on Twitch. Cheer Chat Badges will help you identify the regulars in new channels, animated Emoticons will draw your attention to important messages or moments, and since Cheering is in chat, streamers and their moderators can use moderation tools to make sure that the Cheering in their channel is right for their community.


 * What payment methods can I use to buy Bits?
 * Bits are purchased via Amazon Payments. We are working hard to make Bits and Cheering awesome, and that includes adding additional local payment methods and currency support in the future.


 * I bought Bits through Amazon in the past, but I’d like to switch to PayPal. How do I do that?
 * Begin your Bits purchase as usual. Once you reach the confirmation screen shown below, click on Change payment service in the upper right, and then you will see the option to choose PayPal for your purchase.


 * My Cheer message did not appear on the broadcaster’s overlay. Why might that be?
 * A broadcaster’s overlay is a part of their video streaming feed, and therefore, what they choose to include on that overlay is entirely under their control. We do not require our Partners to use overlays, but we made sure they had the option to use them if they want.


 * How exactly does Cheering support the Affiliates and Partners?
 * Twitch provides participating Affiliates and Partners a share of the revenue Twitch receives from Bits equal to 1 cent per Bit used to Cheer for them, subject to certain terms and conditions such as our Bits Acceptable Use Policy. In addition, Twitch provides broadcasters with moderation tooling, fraud checks, and protection against chargebacks.


 * Does Cheering support third-party integrations?
 * Absolutely! Third parties can build cool stuff around Cheering through chat messages and through Twitch’s PubSub system. REST API support is forthcoming.


 * Will we still be able to use third-party services and tools?
 * Yes, broadcasters are still free to use all existing third-party services and tools. We understand how important these services are to a broadcaster’s livelihood and to creating interactions between broadcasters and their communities. Our focus as an organization is making sure that our broadcasters succeed. We believe that Cheering provides a completely new value to the Twitch community, and our goal is to take your feedback and make it a critical component to a broadcaster’s success.


 * Who gets the Bits when I Cheer on a channel that is currently hosting another channel?
 * Because Cheering is tied to the chat room it happens in, when you Cheer in a channel that is hosting someone else, the channel you are in still gets the Bits, not the hosted channel.


 * Are there restrictions on using Bits?
 * Yes, Bits are subject to our Acceptable Use Policy. Bits have no monetary value, so users cannot make a purchase, donate, or tip with Bits.


 * How do I give feedback about Cheering or Bits?
 * If you would like to send us feedback, ask a question, share an idea, request, random thought, or report a bug, please submit it here!


 * I’m having issues with my Bits purchase, what should I do?
 * If you are having issues with a Bits purchase via Amazon payments please go ahead and open a ticket with our customer support team here. Please ensure you sign in to your Twitch account at the top of the support page. If you are having issues with a Bits purchase via PayPal payments we recommend checking out the Bits Purchases via PayPal Payment Error FAQ for known issues involving PayPal payments for Bits.