Life is but a stream on Twitch

Twitch is home to millions of creators who record themselves playing games, music, sports and more. Millions more watch those streams, learning strategies for some of the most popular games, getting crafting tips or just enjoying the lively commentary. If you’re brand new to the app, here’s how to begin finding channels, interacting with creators and fellow viewers, and even saving clips of your favourite moments.

The app opens onto your Discovery feed, which shows popular live streams and clips. To personalise it, scroll through the Browse tab to find streaming channels by game or category – whether Just Chatting, Special Events or even ASMR – and follow the one that you want, including the latest top streams. Once you've started watching and following channels, your Discovery feed will show recommendations based on your history.

Have a specific streamer in mind? Just head to the Search tab to find their channel.

Want to watch something? Just tap a stream. To go full-screen horizontally, hit the 'Rotate screen' button on the bottom right, then tap it again to go back. Want to keep browsing while watching? Exit full-screen, then swipe down on the video to keep it playing in the background. Tap a minimised video to bring it back to full-screen, or just swipe it left or right to close it.

If you want to see a channel in your Following tab, just tap a video to get the details bar, then hit 'Follow'. You can also tap a streamer's name to visit their channel, follow them or even subscribe for perks like exclusive badges, ad-free content and more. If you want to know when your favourite streamer is broadcasting live, tap the bell icon near the top of the screen, then select your notification preferences.

You can read viewers’ conversations about a stream in real time, or add your own comments in the chat field. Make conversations fun by tapping the smiley face button in the chat field, then selecting an emote (emojis exclusive to Twitch) to send. Hype up your favourite streamers by sending them Bits, Twitch's virtual currency, which you can purchase by tapping the diamond icon to the left of the emote button.

Earn rewards – called Channel Points – by completing specific tasks defined by the streamer. To view rewards and see how many Channel Points you have, simply tap the icon to the left of the chatbox. Once earned, you can redeem your points for special emotes to liven up your messages.

Share a video by tapping it, hitting the share icon at the top right of the screen, then selecting a sharing method. Have a friend on Twitch? Tap 'Share via Whisper' to start a private chat. You can view recent Whispers or start a new one by tapping the chat bubble at the top of the app.

Capture and share memorable moments from a stream by creating a clip. Simply tap a video, then tap the clapperboard icon in the top-right corner to capture a snippet of the stream. Once the clip is ready, tap 'Share' to send it to friends.

Use these tips to get started on Twitch, uncover your new fave channels and hit up some chats. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even get a shoutout in a livestream.