So this post is for those people who like to watch content via Twitch.

I used to have extremely heavy usage watching Youtube content until they brought in heavy advertisements and changed SuperChat (money given to the streamer as a tip) to favor Youtube instead of the streamer. So I stopped watching YouTube content.

In June of 2012 I created my Twitch account. Let me stop here and bring this date to your attention. 2012.

Fast forward and 100% of my LIVE content is consumed through Twitch. From gaming to chatting to specialty (programming, automotive repair, household DIY, etc) to watch parties (people watching the same movie and commenting/criticizing).

Over the years of using Twitch I have seen it all pretty much. From streamers losing their shit to some damn evil people joining chat. It's amazing that there are still some people out there that think thay can behave any way they wish online without consequences. But I digress.

2012

Over the years Twitch have brought in a myriad of protocols to attempt to stop people being.....well....being dicks/bastards/lowest human denominator/etc. Some of these worked, most of them didn't, none of them are 100% effective.

The latest attempt (I say latest but this was brought in some years ago) to try an stop the onslaught of assholes is "Account Verification". To do this, you have to give Twitch your phone number. This is then used in a series of SMS messages to provide codes to be entered into Twitch account pages.

Phone number. My phone number. Wait...how many data breaches has Twitch had?

Short answer.....many. The worst was in 2021 where 10 million users personal data was stolen. Take a guess what information was in that leek? Phone number!

Obviously I have refused to give Twitch any information that could identify me or my location.

Until April 2025 that is.

Twitch have made a change to European users making it impossible to chat in any stream unless you have "verified your account".

Those bastards! My account was created in 2012.....do you think it might be valid? Have there EVER been complaints against it!? What makes Twitch think that having my phone number proves anything?

Does Twitch having my phone number result in better behaved users? Fuck No!

Does Twitch having my phone number result in a more secure system! Oh HELL NO!

Does Twitch having my phone number result in my getting called randomly, by random people/computers. FUCK YEAH IT DOES!

How do you get around this? Easy!

For the past 10 years the mobile phone market have been moving to a "provider-less" setup. As long as you have a data connection (of any type) your phone still works.

For example. If I disable my SIM I can still make WhatsApp/Signal calls to people over my WiFi connection.

So how does this help the average user stopping Twitch getting your phone number? The answer is eSim.

An eSim can be obtained quickly and easily from dozens of providers world wide. These are intended to allow users visiting foreign (target) countries to consume call/sms/data charges at the local rate, instead of the exorbitant roaming fees charged be most carriers.

In my case, I used Airalo for my local eSim. Saily is also a good option, but they don't offer call/SMS packages in some European countries.

Airalo also has a "try us out" one-time-use package. It gave me calls/SMS/data for a week or until the limits where reached. That package cost me a little over ONE DOLLAR USD!!!

So, with eSim loaded onto my phone, I used the SMS number it provided to perform the "account verification" process. The volume of SMS message this took was insane! About a half dozen!

Then, once completed, turn on 2FA on your Twitch account. What this does is move the phone number to the "backup option" for verification.

At which point, you can disable the eSim!

The phone number used is now invalid, my account is secured, Twitch should be happy!

Interestingly, within hours of me performing this verification process, I started receiving spam SMS messages on the eSim number! I don't know if this is caused by Airalo releasing the new number or Twitch. Either way, my ACTUAL phone number is safe from both companies.

If all of this sounds far to elaborate, there are many online SMS services (free of charge) which will allow you to receive SMS message temporarily. They are not secure, there's a risk of nefarious interception of data. Someone far less paranoid than me would probably not have an issue with these services.

Bottom line, Twitch requiring a phone number just puts users at risk and does not secure anything from a Twitch account.

If someone wants to be a dick, there is nothing you can do to stop them. Except, ban the account at first offence!

From watching Twitch, most streamers have invested heavily in Auto-Moderation software as well as actual human moderators. They jump on these guys so fast most people don't even see the infraction.