Slow mode on Twitch gives moderators and streamers control over how many messages viewers can send when they are watching a stream.
If you are a streamer on Twitch, you and all your moderators have access to a few unique chat commands that your viewers do not have.
These commands give you control over the people watching your stream. One of the commands that you can use is slow mode, however, numerous streamers and viewers do not know what it is.
Twitch commands
There are countless commands that you can unlock once you start streaming on Twitch. Each command has a specific objective on the website, which is listed below:
| Command | Description |
| Shoutout | It allows you to share another streamer’s channel by displaying a “Follow” button in the chat |
| Restrict | It restricts a specific viewer’s messages in a chat |
| Timeout | Temporarily bans someone from the chat room for 10 seconds by default |
| Followers | This command allows you or your moderators to restrict chat to all or some of your followers, based on how long they have been following you |
What is slow mode on Twitch?
Since there are more than 20 unique commands that you can use as a streamer or moderator, it can be difficult to keep up with all of them.
One of the commands that you can use is slow mode, which allows you to control how frequently people in your stream are allowed to send messages.
This may seem like a simple command, but streamers generally use this command when they are having a difficult time keeping up with all the chatters in the stream.
If the streamer is too focused, a designated moderator will enable slow mode by typing “/slow” and the number of seconds that they want the chat to be delayed by.
For instance, if you want to slow down the chat by 10 seconds, you will type “/slow 10” in the chat to enable slow mode.
However, you can also click on the cog wheel located at the bottom of the chat box, turn on slow mode, and select the delay time that you want in your chat.
Keep in mind that if you enable slow mode by clicking on the cog wheel, you can only select the preset times that Twitch gives you. You cannot set a custom time like you can when you type the command in the chat.
The slow mode remains active until you disable it. To disable slow mode, you have to type the command “/slowoff” in the chat box and click “Enter”. Once you do this, slow mode will be disabled, and you will have no control over the viewer’s comments.
Why should you use slow mode?
Slow mode essentially limits viewers when it comes to commenting on a stream. If slow mode is activated, viewers can only comment once every few seconds. By enabling slow mode, you get more control over the comments during your stream.
Using slow mode will allow you to respond to all the comments on your stream. If you have thousands of viewers watching your stream, slow mode will not really make a big difference as you will not be able to respond to each comment anyway.
Is slow mode a useful feature?
If you have thousands of viewers on a stream, the slow mode feature is not very useful. However, if you are streamer with a couple of hundred messages, slow mode can be useful to you.
Not only will you be able to answer the messages, but you will also be able to keep track of and control the messages in your chat. Slow mode can be especially useful to those streamers whose channels have gained popularity within a short period of time.
Why you should only use slow mode when necessary
Twitch allows streamers and viewers to communicate and build a connection. If you have a small number of viewers, and you enable slow mode, it may ruin the connection that you have with your viewers.
This can leave an impression that you do not respect your viewers and fans and therefore, they may stop watching your content.
In contrast, if your chat is very overwhelming, the slow mode is a useful thing to use, and nobody will blame you for activating it.
If there are a hundred people in your chat, and you find it tough to answer all the messages, but somehow you manage to do it, it is advisable that you continue without slow mode activated.
This way, you will get experience in streaming and chatting at the same time.