Twitch Gives Streamers an Opt-Out From Amazon AI Training

The toggle labeled "Training for Generative AI" appears near the bottom of the Security and Privacy section in Twitch's account settings. Streamers who switch it off will keep their streams, VOD recordings, clips, highlights, stream chat, and any text or images on their channel out of future training for Amazon models designed to generate or synthesize text, audio, images, or video.

Twitch has not said whether Amazon already trained models using content pulled from the platform before the opt-out existed, or whether turning the setting off now would affect any of that earlier material.

The rollout has drawn sharp criticism from streamers, in large part because every account was automatically opted in before anyone had a chance to turn the setting off. During a livestream addressing the backlash, Twitch's chief product officer offered a blunt explanation for the opt-out design. "If it were opt-in, nobody would opt in," he said, according to comments reported by multiple outlets covering the discussion.

Twitch executives also acknowledged they had not emailed users directly about the change, relying instead on direct messages and word of mouth to spread the news.

The opt-out applies specifically to generative AI training. Twitch says other AI-powered features on the platform, including AutoMod, automated captions, and tools tied to streamer growth and monetization, will keep running regardless of a user's training preference, since the company does not classify those as content-retaining training systems.

If a viewer opts out but chats in someone else's stream, the host channel's setting determines whether that chat content can still be used for training. Twitch has said it currently has no plans to let users see which channels are opted in or opted out before they join a stream.

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