# One channel or every channel? Start here
Twitch's chat troubleshooting page starts with a question that works for follows too: "If the issue only happens in one channel, it's likely related to that channel's specific settings or restrictions."[1] Twitch wrote that about chat, not follows. But the follow rules split the same way. Some live in the channel's settings, some are attached to your account, and some apply across all of Twitch.
| What you see | Most likely cause | Where Twitch documents it | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| A prompt to verify your email or phone | The channel has Follower Verification switched on | Follower Verification help page | Verify in Security Settings, then follow again |
| One channel refuses, with no prompt | A block between you and that channel, in either direction | About Bans, Blocking, and Suspensions | Check your own blocked list first |
| Every new follow fails, but unfollowing works | Probably the 2,000-channel limit | Only in a 2013 blog post | Unfollow channels you no longer watch, then try again |
| Follow and unfollow both fail everywhere | A problem on Twitch's side | Not documented for follows | Check the status page and wait |
| Your account is indefinitely suspended | Suspended accounts may not use Twitch services | About Account Enforcements and Chat Bans | Use the Appeals Portal |
# The channel wants a verified email or phone first
This is the documented cause that the older guides for this question leave out. Twitch describes Follower Verification settings as "a set of configurable requirements that users must meet to have the ability to follow your channel."[2] The streamer picks one of three levels, once for email and once for phone.
- All users. Everyone needs a verified email, or a verified phone, to follow, "with the exception of moderators, VIPs, and subscribers".[2]
- Some users. Only accounts younger than an age the streamer picks, "ranging from 1 hour to 6 months", have to be verified.[2] A new account can be stopped by this while an older unverified account is not.
- Off. For both email and phone, Twitch says the off option "is the default setting".[2]
If you run into one of these, Twitch says users who do not meet the requirement "will be prompted to verify their account before being allowed to follow."[2] The streamer cannot let you through on your own: "You cannot make exceptions for specific users".[2] So the only ways past it are to verify, to subscribe, or to be made a moderator or VIP.
- Verify your email. Twitch sends chatters who hit a verification prompt to Security Settings,[1] and the same place works for follows.
- Add a phone number if the channel asks for one. Twitch sends a 6-digit code to the number you enter, and "VoIP numbers (like Google Voice) are not supported."[6]
- Press Follow again. For chat, Twitch suggests refreshing the page or restarting the app after you verify.[1] Its follow page says nothing about this, but it costs nothing to try.
One more phone detail: Twitch says "Adding a phone number to your account immediately and automatically disables additional account creation using that phone number."[6] If the code never arrives at all, the guide to missing Twitch verification codes goes through each code type and the resend loop.
# A block stops follows in both directions
Twitch's page on bans and blocking lists what a block does. Two lines matter here. Blocked users "are removed from your followers/following list", and "They are prevented from following you, and vice-versa".[3]
Most guides miss the second half of that line. If you blocked a streamer, even years ago, you cannot follow them until you unblock them. Twitch's harassment page says your blocks are listed in the "Privacy section of your Security Settings page".[8] Check there before anything else. It is the one cause you can confirm and fix yourself.
The other direction is harder to check, because "The blocked user is not notified that you've blocked them".[3] If one channel refuses your follow, you have not blocked it, and no verification prompt appeared, a block from their side is the documented explanation left. A block also stops you watching, because blocking someone "prevents them from viewing your livestreams".[3]
# Bans and suspensions: where Twitch's pages disagree
A channel ban is not the same as a block. Twitch's list of what a ban does covers chat and clips. You cannot chat in that channel, your clip comments there are hidden, and "You can still watch the stream (unless the channel owner has enabled additional restrictions)". The list says nothing about following.[3]
The Follower Verification page says something different. Answering a streamer's question, it says: "To remove someone from your followers list, you will need to either ban or block them."[2] So one Twitch page suggests a ban removes a follower, and the page that defines bans does not mention follows at all. Neither page says whether a banned user can follow the channel again. None of the Twitch pages we read settles it.
| Action | Who does it | Effect on following, according to Twitch |
|---|---|---|
| Block | You or the other user | Removes the follow, and neither of you can follow the other |
| Channel ban | The channel owner or a moderator | Not listed on the ban page. The Follower Verification page names a ban as a way to remove a follower |
| Streaming or chatting suspension | Twitch | You can still follow channels |
| Indefinite suspension | Twitch | You may not use Twitch services at all |
Suspensions are clearer. For streaming and chatting suspensions, Twitch says "For either type of suspension, you can continue to watch streams, follow channels, and use other Twitch features not restricted by your suspension type." An indefinite suspension is different: "you may not access or use Twitch services".[9] Our guide to how long Twitch suspensions last covers the durations and the appeal routes.
If a channel banned you and you want back in, Twitch says "Banned users can submit a one-time unban request", but only if the channel owner has turned Unban Requests on.[9] Twitch will not step in: "Twitch does not get involved in channel-specific bans."[3]
# The 2,000-channel limit comes from a 2013 blog post
Nearly every guide on this question says Twitch caps follows at 2,000 channels. A guide updated in September 2026 calls it Twitch's "2,000-channel following limit".[10] The number is real, but its official source is old. In March 2013, Twitch's blog explained that a code change had "limited the number of channels viewers could follow to 100", apologised, and said Twitch was "raising that limit soon to 2000, with room for even more growth in the future."[4]
None of the Twitch help pages we read for this guide states a follow limit. Users still report hitting one. In March 2024 one wrote on X: "Just realized that twitch has a 2000 follow limit."[11] So treat 2,000 as the likely limit, not as a current written rule. If Twitch has changed it since 2013, it has not said so in any of the pages we read.
It is probably the limit if all of these are true:
- Every channel refuses a new follow, not just one.
- No verification prompt appears.
- Unfollowing still works. If it does not, go to the next section.
- You follow a lot of channels. The Following tab in Twitch's mobile app is where you can "review all your followed channels and categories".[12]
If it is the limit, unfollow channels you no longer watch and try again. None of these sources says whether followed categories count toward the same total. Twitch lets you follow categories,[12] but the 2013 post only talks about channels.
# When follow and unfollow both fail
If the Follow button does nothing on every channel and unfollowing fails too, the limit is not the explanation. A streamer described exactly that on X in January 2025: "I can't follow OR unfollow any channels on Twitch." They added, "I thought I'd hit my maximum following count".[13] Unfollowing failing as well is what points away from the limit.
Twitch does not document follow outages. When we read its status page on 24 September 2026, it tracked six parts of the service: Login, Web, Chat, Video (Watching), Video (Broadcasting) and Purchases.[14] Following is not listed on its own, so an all-green status page does not rule out a follow problem. The same page tells you to follow @TwitchSupport on X for updates.[14]
- Refresh the page or restart the app. Twitch gives this advice for chat connection problems.[1] It does not document it for follows, but it is the quickest test.
- Try the other version of Twitch. Use the website if you were on the app, or the other way round. This is not from Twitch's pages. It just tells you whether the problem is the app or the account.
- Check the status page and @TwitchSupport.[14]
- If it goes on, contact Twitch Support. Twitch's chat page ends the same way for problems it cannot explain.[1]
# If people cannot follow your channel
Streamers search this too, and the first thing to check is your own settings. Twitch's Follower Verification page says to open your Creator Dashboard, click Moderation, and then Settings.[2] If follower verification by email or phone is set to All users, every unverified viewer is stopped at the Follow button, apart from moderators, VIPs and subscribers.[2] Twitch's harassment guide presents the setting as a way to "make it more difficult for followbots to target your channel."[8]
That protection has a cost that no report shows you. Viewers who will not verify simply do not follow, and Twitch does not say how many would-be followers each setting turns away. Some users, with a short account-age window, is the narrower option if you mainly want to stop brand-new accounts.
Chat verification is a separate set of settings with its own rules.[7] One interaction between the two is worth knowing. Chat verification can let unverified viewers chat once they have "followed for more than" a time you set, "from a range of 10 Minutes to 3 months".[7] But if Follower Verification requires the same verification from all users, an unverified viewer cannot follow in the first place, so that route into your chat is closed. This comes from reading the two pages together. Twitch does not describe the combination.
The two pages also describe exemptions differently. The chat page says "You may toggle exemptions for Subscribers, VIPs and Moderations of your channel."[7] The follower page simply lists moderators, VIPs and subscribers as exceptions and mentions no toggle.[2] If you rely on an exemption for followers, check that it is actually set, rather than assuming the chat setting carries over.
Settings fixed. The follows still have to come from somewhere
Once nothing in your settings is turning viewers away, the remaining question is reach. Streamrise delivers Twitch followers paced over a window you choose rather than in one spike. No supplier can tell you how Twitch grades follows, and Twitch's own help pages call artificial inflation of channel statistics a violation of its policies. Read them and decide for yourself.
- 60-day refill
- Paced delivery
# Every documented rule about following, in one table
Here is everything Twitch's own pages say about following, with the date each source shows. With the rules spread across this many pages, it is easy to see how guides end up contradicting each other.
| Rule | Twitch source | Date on the source |
|---|---|---|
| A channel can require a verified email or phone to follow, for all users or for accounts up to 6 months old | Follower Verification | December 19, 2025 |
| Moderators, VIPs and subscribers are exempt, and there are no exceptions for individual users | Follower Verification | December 19, 2025 |
| A number or email tied to a suspended account cannot verify another account | Follower Verification and Chat Verification Settings | December 19, 2025 and February 24, 2026 |
| A block removes the follow and stops both users following each other | About Bans, Blocking, and Suspensions | August 12, 2026 |
| Blocking stops the blocked user following you in the future | How to Manage Harassment in Chat | August 31, 2026 |
| A ban or a block removes someone from your followers list | Follower Verification | December 19, 2025 |
| The listed effects of a ban do not include following | About Bans, Blocking, and Suspensions | August 12, 2026 |
| Streaming and chatting suspensions do not stop you following channels | About Account Enforcements and Chat Bans | August 18, 2026 |
| A limit of 2,000 followed channels | On Channel Following Limits, Twitch blog | March 26, 2013 |
# The bottom line
If one channel will not take your follow, look for a verification prompt and check your own block list. Those are the two causes Twitch documents that you can fix yourself.[2][3] If every channel refuses and unfollowing still works, the 2,000 limit is the likely cause, even though Twitch's only written source for it dates from 2013.[4]
If you are the streamer, open your Follower Verification settings before you assume nobody wants to follow. And be careful with any guide, including older Twitch pages, that talks about bans and follows as if the rule were settled. Twitch's own pages do not agree on it yet.[2][3]
# FAQ
Why can't I follow someone on Twitch?
Twitch's help pages and blog describe four causes. The channel may require a verified email or phone before you can follow, one of you may have blocked the other, your account may be indefinitely suspended, or you may have reached the follow limit. If it is only one channel, check verification and blocks first.
Why does Twitch ask me to verify before I can follow?
The channel has Follower Verification turned on. Streamers can require a verified email or phone from all users, or only from accounts younger than an age between 1 hour and 6 months. Moderators, VIPs and subscribers are exempt.
How many channels can you follow on Twitch?
The figure everyone uses is 2,000. It comes from a Twitch blog post from March 2013, and users still report hitting it, but none of Twitch's current help pages that we read states a limit.
If I block someone on Twitch, can I still follow them?
No. Twitch says blocked users are prevented from following you, and vice-versa. Unblock them first. Your block list is in the Privacy section of your Security Settings page.
Can you follow channels on Twitch while suspended?
With a streaming or chatting suspension, yes. Twitch says you can continue to watch streams and follow channels. With an indefinite suspension, no, because you may not use Twitch services at all.
Does banning someone on Twitch remove them as a follower?
Twitch's pages disagree. The Follower Verification page says you can ban or block someone to remove them from your followers list. The page that defines bans lists chat and clip effects and does not mention following. Only blocking is described consistently as removing a follow.
Why can't people follow me on Twitch?
Check your Follower Verification settings in the Creator Dashboard, under Moderation and then Settings. If email or phone verification is set to All users, viewers without a verified email or phone cannot follow you until they verify.
Is follow for follow allowed on Twitch?
Not when it is coordinated. Twitch lists Follow 4 Follow among forms of fake engagement and says artificial inflation of channel statistics violates its policies.
Why can't I follow or unfollow anyone on Twitch?
When both fail on every channel, the follow limit is not the cause, and Twitch does not document one. Refresh or restart the app, try the website instead of the app, and check Twitch's status page and @TwitchSupport. Twitch's status page does not list following as its own component.