VTuber slams Twitch for “incoherent” attire rules after VRchat bikini gets her banned

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Streamer Ana Valens, who is also known as a Virtual YouTuber, expressed frustration towards Twitch when her avatar’s bikini attire during a VRchat stream led to a ban on the platform.

Discussions about Twitch’s rules regarding acceptable clothing for VTubers have caused quite a stir on the internet, with many people still expressing confusion about these guidelines today.

In autumn 2024, Twitch made modifications to its Enforcement Notes feature by providing further explanations and illustrative examples within its Community Guidelines to stay proactive about any upcoming changes or trends.

Specifically, Twitch highlighted the need for VTubers’ character models to have complete body coverage, emphasizing that “the hip area is frequently overlooked.

I’ve found myself right in the thick of a heated discussion that swept through social media platforms, leaving VTubers feeling frustrated. And even after several months, it seems like we’re no closer to reaching a resolution.

It seems like Twitch is making a significant effort to encourage all VTubers to switch to YouTube, and if this is indeed their goal, they are certainly succeeding effectively.

— Screenshots from /vt/ 6: Return of the RRATS (@vt_takes3) October 7, 2024

VTuber furious over Twitch guidelines after bikini ban

On April 9, 2025, during a live stream on Twitch and VRchat, Ana Valens, a virtual YouTuber, was donning two distinct swimsuits. Suddenly, she encountered an issue preventing her from using the chat room.

She found out rather promptly that a 24-hour ban had been imposed on her Twitch account due to inappropriate clothing, as stated in an email she received later. This email mentioned “an augmented reality avatar during the stream that lacked adequate coverage.

Indeed, it seems there has been an issue with my account on Twitch. The content I was sharing, which includes elements of #vtuber and #lewdtuber, appears to have violated some guidelines related to the VRChat category. It’s possible that my frequent movement or exposure of certain parts of my avatar might have exceeded acceptable limits, even though I noticed other streamers wearing similar attire without issue. Regrettably, this led to a temporary ban on my account for a day.

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Valens acknowledged that she might have walked a fine line regarding these specifications, but she also voiced her annoyance at what seemed like an uneven application of Twitch’s bans, particularly in the comparison between VTubers and traditional streamers.

To illustrate, she noted that these regulations do not pertain to “characters from video games like VRChat, for example,” which added to the perplexity of her unique case.

Furthermore, she cited examples of other VTubers streaming on Twitch within VRchat while wearing significantly less attire, and yet, they avoided being banned. Strangely enough, why is this the case?

Despite my pointing out that the outfit wasn’t significantly distinct from those typically worn in VRChat streams, Twitch chose not to overturn its decision.

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In an April 10 piece for VICE, she expressed her growing irritation with Twitch: “If I foolishly play a game and end up winning a trivial reward, that’s my mistake. But when the rules of the game are utterly confusing because some players are being penalized while others seemingly walk over them? That’s not right.

It’s not about being smart enough to win an unimportant reward. It’s more like playing Calvinball, where the rules are constantly shifting, making it difficult to understand how the game ought to be played.

Twitch has faced questions concerning its VTuber clothing guidelines before. In fact, they publicly spoke about the criticism in a special interview with TopMob back in October 2024, confirming that their dress code applies equally to human broadcasters as well as VTubers (Virtual YouTubers).

It’s worth mentioning that Twitch’s Community Guidelines specify that swimwear, brief shorts, and bodysuits can be worn as long as they fully conceal the genital area. This implies that VTubers are allowed to broadcast while wearing bikinis with exposed hips, like Ana Valens.

Even though there’s some misunderstanding, Twitch has made it clear that they understand the significance of VTubers on their platform and are receptive to suggestions about their policies related to the VTubing community. They value input from the community.

Twitch expressed their desire for accuracy and gratitude for all feedback, noting that VTubers are highly valued and continue to play an important role in the Twitch community.

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2025-04-10 21:18