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Twitch to Implement 100-Hour Storage Limit for Highlights
Twitch is set to impose a new restriction on the storage of content archived by streamers, aiming to reduce storage expenses. The platform announced on Wednesday that starting April 19th, a 100-hour cap will be introduced for Highlights and Uploads, with the warning that any content exceeding this limit will be automatically removed until the total duration falls below the threshold.
The rationale behind this change, according to Twitch, is that “Highlights haven’t been very effective in driving discovery or engagement.” With the associated costs of maintaining extensive amounts of this content not justifiable, the platform is making adjustments. It’s worth noting that Twitch is a subsidiary of Amazon, a leader in cloud storage solutions, which has led to some criticism from streamers regarding the decision.
This storage cap specifically targets Highlights—concise edits from live stream recordings—along with content uploaded via third-party tools. Other content types, including Clips and VODs, which are already subject to automatic deletions, will remain unaffected by this new rule.
Streamers who currently have more than 100 hours of content will have the opportunity to download their Highlights and Uploads before the new cap comes into effect. Once implemented, deletions will occur in order of Highlights with the fewest views. Twitch is also introducing a new storage tracking feature on the Video Producer page to assist users in managing their content, allowing them to filter Highlights and Uploads by various metrics such as length, view count, and creation date.
Twitch emphasized that this adjustment affects less than 0.5 percent of active channels on the platform and accounts for under 0.1 percent of total watching hours. The goal, as stated by Twitch, is to enhance resource management, maintain support for Highlights and Uploads, and continue investing in viewer engagement features such as Clips and a mobile feed.
This change is particularly significant for the speedrunning community on Twitch, which heavily relies on Highlights for documenting its history. Although Highlights and Uploads can be migrated to other platforms, the process is cumbersome and could disrupt the record-keeping of speedrunning milestones online.
One user on a Twitch forum expressed concerns, stating, “Not just world records, but most every run submitted that was on Twitch is stored as a highlight on speedrun.com. That includes users who no longer run, no longer stream, no longer have an online presence, or may even not be alive anymore.” They further warned that diminishing the emphasis on Highlights could jeopardize the preservation of speedrunning history.
Source
www.theverge.com