Twitch has effectively banned “topless meta” and other implied nudity streams with another update to its clothing policy.
under New policy, announced Wednesday, that streamers are no longer allowed to “insinuate or imply that they are fully or partially naked,” and may not show a clear outline of their genitals, even if they are covered. Covering the breasts or genitals with objects or censorship bars that indicate nudity is also prohibited. Streamers presenting females may show cleavage, as long as the nipples and underboob are covered, and the streamers are “obviously clothed.”
The update comes in response to the rise of popular streams known as topless or “black striping,” where streamers appear nude using smart frames or black censor bars to cover their chests and genitals. Although the content did not technically violate Twitch’s clothing policy prohibiting actual nudity, and was properly labeled as “sexual themes,” the streams were still controversial in the Twitch community.
“For many users, thumbnails of this content can be disruptive to their experience on Twitch.” Angela Hession, chief customer trust officer at Twitch, wrote in a Blog post About update. “While content tagged as ‘sexual themes’ is not displayed on the home page, such content is displayed within category browsing guides, and we understand that many users visit these pages to find content on Twitch.”
The company is also working on a feature that would allow streamers to blur thumbnails of sexually tagged content, as well as user settings that would allow viewers to filter out adult-tagged content that may include sexual themes, tobacco or alcohol use, or violence. Or explicit language
Twitch has restated its content policies regarding nudity and sexual themes several times in the past month. In a policy overhaul in December, the platform announced it would allow “fantasy” nudity showing nipples, buttocks and genitals, in response to feedback from its streaming community.
While depicted, animated or sculpted images of nudity have been permitted, VTuber users and physical streamers themselves must still adhere to the platform’s dress policy, which prohibits exposed breasts and other images of nudity. The update also simplified the platform’s stance on sexual content by creating a comprehensive “sexual themes” tag, so that streams tagged as adult will no longer be promoted on the platform’s homepage.
The platform backed away from its artistic nudity policy days later — the streaming community was okay with the raunchy furry art, but the influx of hyper-realistic AI-generated nudes raised red flags. in Follow the blog postTwitch CEO Dan Clancy wrote that the company went “too far” with the change, and that Twitch agreed with “community concerns” regarding streaming AI-generated nude content.
“Digital nude photography presents a unique challenge – artificial intelligence can be used to create photorealistic images, and it can be difficult to differentiate between digital art and photography,” Clancy said.
The topless meta went viral late last year when OnlyFans streamer and model Morgpie began appearing topless in her streams. Her “topless” streams were framed to show off her bare shoulders, upper chest, and cleavage. The frame included implied nudity, but did not actually show content that explicitly violated Twitch’s sexual content policies. it was Banned from Twitch After hosting a topless charity drive to raise money for Doctors Without Borders.
Other streamers began creating similar content, using black tape, papers, and intentionally placed objects like game consoles to cover themselves. Male streamers also mimicked identification by broadcasting naked, but with their genitals and nipples covered. Other creators — especially male streamers — have complained about the popularity of implied nude content. Gros Jor streamer, who was He was previously banned on Twitch For violating the off-platform conduct policy when allegations of sexual assault and grooming surfaced against him, He mocked topless meta creators in a recent stream As a danger to children.
Other streamers have criticized gender double standards on Twitch; While all “female breasts with exposed nipples” are prohibited except when breastfeeding, males are allowed to show their full breasts. Twitch’s Ren_Nyx pointed out the double standards in X commented in response to Twitch’s policy update announcement, He writes that “it doesn’t make sense for men to be shirtless during a broadcast,” but “if women do it and it’s not even visible, that’s a bit of a problem.”
Others have raised concerns that the new policy will only affect small streaming companies.
VTuber MissusMummy responded to Twitch’s “Big money makers need to know they are not exempt from following the rules.”