Putting Privacy Rights in Plain Language to Build Trust and Meet Compliance.

At Twitch, we serve a global, digitally native audience—more than 70% of our viewers are under 35, many of whom are creators themselves. Yet through surveys and user interviews, we uncovered a critical gap: most users didn’t understand what personal data was being collected, how it was used, or how to revisit or update their privacy choices. Many remembered making selections but didn’t know what they had picked—or how to find that information again. Worse, users lacked even a foundational understanding of how “personal data” is defined, both on Twitch and more broadly.While legal disclosures and consent prompts existed, they were inaccessible, overly complex, and failed to build trust. In short, our privacy information wasn’t usable, and therefore wasn’t useful.

We launched the Twitch Privacy Center as a single, accessible hub where users could learn about their data, understand their rights, and take control of their privacy settings. From the start, we centered transparency, usability, and user trust. Working closely with UX research, legal, and design, we rewrote every piece of content to be clear and approachable—ditching legalese, simplifying complex terms, and addressing the real questions users raised in feedback sessions. The Privacy Center featured plain-language explainers about personal data use, step-by-step guides for accessing, downloading, or deleting data, and easy walkthroughs for opting out of ad tracking. It also made Twitch’s Privacy Principles front and center, highlighting our commitment to data minimization and privacy-first design. Most importantly, we built it with our community—from streamers to viewers to privacy advocates—shaping the content and structure based on their input, every step of the way.

The Privacy Center turned regulatory obligation into a user-focused experience. It became a critical step forward in our broader privacy roadmap, helping Twitch align with GDPR, CCPA, and DMA requirements—while also building real trust with a privacy-skeptical audience.Internally, it became a reference point for future privacy-forward product development. Externally, it was positively received by users, press, and regulators alike for its clarity and approachability. Most importantly, it gave our community something rare in the privacy space: information they could understand and use.