Twitch Viewer Count Wrong – (Fake vs Real Viewers) Explained

This problem has been on Twitch for a long time and every small streamer asking why my Twitch viewer count is wrong.

Most of the people complained that twitch is showing low viewers count as there are more people watching. 

Brad, my friend complained to me that why does twitch say I have 1 viewer when I have more?

This can be really disappointing for new streamers and even for viewers.

Why Twitch Viewer Count Wrong

There is a lot of misunderstanding among the new streamers about twitch viewers count and even there have been bugs on Twitch that show wrong viewers count. 

Twitch may not count people in viewers count if

• Stream Sound is muted from the viewer’s end. Though twitch says that they count such lurkers who have muted streams but still I have seen this issue.
  
  
• Users connected on chat but actually not watching the stream.
  
  
• Users went out of stream very quickly.
  
  
• Some lurkers who open your stream in a tab or windows, doing nothing and busy in some other work

Twitch streamers can see their viewers and viewers count on the dashboard and many times they actually get confused when they match the viewers count with the users in chat.

That really sucks I know and so you may get credit for only the viewers count.

In June 2021 there was a bug from the twitch side showing inaccurate numbers of viewers for which twitch tweeted saying the problem is fixed and they will keep monitoring.

But what for now as you came to this article today, is it again a bug from twitch or probably you have some confusion.

Let’s clear everything and see how twitch counts viewers.

 

How does Twitch count viewers?

Now let’s understand what exactly the twitch viewer count is. According to twitch the “viewers count” is the number of concurrent viewers.

Viewers count is displayed in red color just below the twitch video player.

When Viewers are added to Viewers Count?

So if anyone comes to your live stream either from browser, app, or social media and spends some time along with some interaction they are considered in Twitch Viewers Count.

When Viewers are not added to Viewers Count?

Now if any users come to your stream and leave immediately or lurkers that come to stream but don’t do anything sometimes come under view but not under viewers count.

You might be thinking why the people who come to stream even for a while are not counted in viewers count.

You must be aware of view bots that many streamers used to increase their views. In order to block these viewbots I guess twitch doesn’t count views that come to your stream and then go away.

Bots are also not included in the viewer’s count

 

Does Twitch count yourself as a Viewer?

Yes, twitch does count you as a viewer but there is a condition.

I understand you need 3 average viewers on your stream to qualify for a twitch affiliate and so you must be thinking of maintaining at least 3 average viewers.

Till the time your video preview is open, you will be counted in twitch viewers count and you may have noticed that viewers count remains at 1 even if no one else is watching.

This is quite beneficial for you, but keeping the video preview open can cause twitch freezing and lag issues. Once you close a video preview you will not be counted in viewers count. 

 

What are Unique Viewers on Twitch?

I am trying to clear all your doubts related to Twitch viewers count and so you must also know what are unique viewers on Twitch.

Unique viewers are the number of users who watched your stream. 

Remember if a user returns to your stream twice or multiple times they will be still considered as 1 unique view.

Let me give an example. If out of 100 people coming to your stream 10 people watch your live stream 3 more times on different times or dates they will be counted as 10 views only.

Do Lurkers count as Viewers on Twitch?

Lurkers are people who come to a stream and just enjoy the stream without engaging in chat. 

Generally, lurkers are counted as viewers on twitch but sometimes they are not.

When lurkers open your stream on the browser, leave it open and at the same time, they work or access any other app or windows is mostly not considered in twitch viewers count.

So you can’t say 100% that lurkers are counted as viewers in Twitch.

This is why everyone recommends that you make your stream full of entertainment and engage your viewers. To avoid better have some good twitch channel points that may convey lurkers to active viewers who will engage in chat.

 

Difference between Twitch Viewers Count and Viewers List

Twitch views and viewers might seem confusing to you, I understand but after reading this complete blog all of your doubts will be crystal clear.

Twitch viewers count and viewers list are two different things.

Someone who comes to your stream as a guest or from their twitch ID and stays for some time comes under viewers count. Now among these viewers who are watching your stream from their twitch account will be displayed in the Viewers list.

So the viewer’s list shows only those viewers who are watching streams from their twitch ID.

Now because of this, you may see high viewers count as compared to the viewer’s list.

 

Does Twitch give your Fake Viewers? Twitch Viewers Count Wrong 

NO, twitch does not give you fake viewers
Fake viewers are basically views coming through the view bots which can be categories into two parts.

• Illegal Viewbots
• Legal Viewbots

Twitch has recently taken some action against these view bots and even you can get banned using these illegal view bots.

Now legal view bots don’t mean that you are allowed to use such technology but twitch may not ban you for using this.

So what I mean is if you watch your own stream from multiple twitch accounts from different IPs it would be considered under views counts.

 

Why are Viewers counts important in Twitch?

Viewer counts are actually more important for the new streamers who seek to quickly qualify for twitch affiliate.

You need to maintain an average view count of 3 people for some time in order to show that your channel values and to qualify for twitch affiliate.

For big streamers like xQcow who have high net worth don’t care too much about viewer counts. 

Viewer counts are also important for new streamers because it gains new viewers’ attention to come to your stream. As many viewers avoid coming to the stream who have 1 or 2 view counts watching.

Hopefully, you know how view counts are important in Twitch.

 

How to Get More Viewers on Twitch?

Hopefully, I have cleared all your doubts on twitch “viewers count” wrong issues and so you better focus more to increase your viewers on Twitch.

In short, I am sharing a few tips that you must bring into practice to gain more viewers.

• Be best with your gameplay or whatever you stream.

   

• Be entertaining, viewers love this combo of best gameplay along with entertainment.

   

• Choose the best time to stream on twitch and be consistent.

   

• Play games with viewers as well.

   

• Try to play with other streamers as well.

   

• Join a few best twitch communities to stay updated for more tips and help. 

I am very sure that these few tips will surely help you to gain more viewers on twitch. So better have patience and wait for the results.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Twitch viewer count wrong and not updating?

 

WRAPPING UP

Being a streamer I know how it feels when you manage to get viewers on your stream but viewers’ counts do not increase.

Apart from frustration, you must know enough about the terms and conditions of the platform where you are streaming.

Twitch viewer count wrong issues can be some twitch bugs but basically, for most of the new streamers, it’s confusion.

Read the article carefully if you still have doubts and for any other questions or doubts let me know in the comment box.

 

CHECK OTHER TWITCH STREAMING SUPPORT BLOGS