Life on the world’s biggest and most popular streaming platform is as colorful, as lively, as fast-paced, and entertaining as ever. And finally, after many calls for it, and much heartbreak, Twitch has integrated a feature allowing users to change their username.
This sounds like a fairly obvious thing to be able to do, on any social media platform, frankly, but until relatively recently, in order to change your username on Twitch, you had to create an entirely new account – which, of course, could be heartbreaking for any users who had built up a steady following, or had carefully curated their list of favorite Twitch streamers. In essence, it meant starting from scratch.
Now though, no more! If you’ve grown tired (or embarrassed) of that silly username you settled on five years ago, or if you simply wish to correct the spelling or style of your username, you can do so in just a few clicks.
To find out how to change your Twitch username, just follow the below steps:
Table of Contents
Changing your Twitch username
- Navigate to the Twitch website on your preferred web browser, or open the Twitch app on your device, and log-in (if prompted)
- From the Twitch Home page, navigate to your Profile Settings (by clicking the profile icon in the top-right corner on the Twitch website, and then from the drop-down menu selecting Settings)
- Locate your Username, and click the pen icon to the right of it in order to edit/change your username
- Input your desired new username. If it is available, you’ll see a green check mark appear next to the username
- Click Update
- Enter your Twitch password to verify if prompted
- Your new username will be applied immediately to your channel. Your followers and subscribers will now see your new username whenever they interact with your channel. Happy streaming!
Note: You can only change your username on Twitch every 60 days – this is to ensure that changes made to your profile are taken seriously, and only made if deemed absolutely necessary by the user. Below your Username in Profile Settings, you should see a countdown timer alerting you to how long it is until you can change your username again.
And there you have it! As easy as that, you can change that embarrassing username for one more fitting for your new improved image, or you can just correct that stupid spelling mistake you didn’t pick up on when you first created your profile!
Frequently asked questions
Will my old channel/username’s URL redirect to my new one?
In short, no, it won’t. Once you’ve updated/changed your Twitch username, your channel’s URL will automatically update, and anyone clicking through your old URL will not be redirected. In order to ensure you don’t lost out, make sure to update your Twitch links (wherever you have them, on external platforms) with your new channel’s URL, to ensure everyone knows what’s going on.
Will I lose my followers/subscribers if my username changes?
No. Your followers and subscribers will see that your name has changed, and will still be subscribed/follow your channel, even if your new username has nothing to do whatsoever with your previous one. However, having said this, it is always a good practice when changing your username to preserve your streamer stats by exporting them, prior to changing your username.
What if I decide I’d like my old username back?
After you’ve changed your username, the abandoned username will be held by Twitch for a minimum period of 6 months. After this, Twitch can then decide to return the abandoned username to its pool of available usernames, or not. If you have changed your username, but decide (after 60 days) that you want it back, you should be able to do so, since it was yours in the first place. I haven’t tested this theory, but if you have any issue changing your username back, I suggest contacting the Twitch support team and explaining the situation. So long as you contact them within 6 months of leaving your old username behind, you should be able to get it back without issue.
