For many, the ultimate goal is to become a Twitch partner – becoming an affiliate means you can start earning some money but with Partnership it means you can earn even more as a thanks for your commitment and loyalty to Twitch.
But just as Twitch giveth they can also taketh away – once you’ve earned Partnership status can you lose it? And what could you do which could lead to losing it? Let’s dive in.
Can you lose Twitch partnership?
Yes, you can lose Twitch partnership but it is rare to do so and would take a serious breach of the Terms of Service or an extended period of inactivity.
Let’s get into the details of how someone could lose Twitch partner status
5 Ways You Could Lose Twitch Partner Status
These are exactly the same as losing Twitch affiliate status with some minor differences
Breaking the Terms of Service
Every Twitch streamer and user are bound by Twitch’s Terms of Service
and Community guidelines whether they are affiliated or partnered. Breaking these guidelines can result in losing your partner status or worse, the entire account. It really does depend on how egregious the violation is. There are a lot of ways you could break the ToS but the most common are:
- Copyright infringement
- Hate speech by you or your community
- Nudity of any kind
- Illegal activity (alcohol, drugs on stream etc)
- Bullying and harassment of others, or inciting bullying or harassment of others
Losing partner status is rare but if it was to happen the above is the most common reason.
Breaking their individual contract
For Twitch partners who have specific contracts with clauses such as exclusivity (simulcasting) or minimum streaming time can lose their partner status if they breach those terms, naturally. Contracts such as these are only seen with the ultra popular streamers but in reality it is these kinds of streamers who see themselves get banned most often!
Simulcasting
Although streamers can put their content anywhere, parents can’t (unless they have a contract saying they can) stream content at the same time on multiple platforms. This is called simulcasting. Simulcasting is a breach of the partner agreement but not a serious enough offence (we think) to actually have your account suspended or terminated.
Streamers are made well aware of the simulcasting ban so it would be impossible to do it accidentally.
Serious inactivity
We’ve included the word serious here because although there are some cases where inactivity has led to losing partner with Twitch is is so uncommon and unlikely. We’ve heard from partners who went away for 12 months, earning nothing in that time and came back still being a partner. This is not to say it CAN’T happen but you would need to be away for a really long time.
So if you’re worried that a small mental health break, or a month-long holiday means you won’t be a partner anymore – don’t be. Twitch gave you partner in the first place because you’re performing and committed and they will reward that with patience and understanding.
But, if you’re gone for 2 years then yeah, you could lose it.
Agreeing to leave the program
Last but not least, you can lose your partner status with Twitch if you simply ask them to remove you from the program. Many who want to simulcast or work with another platform exclusively would do this as to not burn bridges with Twitch.
If you ask to leave the program then you won’t be in breach of some of the requirements to stay on it and can leave amicably.
Can you get partner back after losing it?
This really does depend on how you lost it in the first place and to be honest, how big you are. There have been some of the biggest streamers on the planet who have been suspended and then reinstated right back to where they left off and there have been others who never saw a return.
If you lost it due to inactivity or low earnings then absolutely you could work your way back to the requirements.
But, if you broke the ToS in a serious and controversial way? Perhaps not.
