Kick has launched a new feature that lets streamers hide their live viewer count from the public during broadcasts.
The toggle is optional, meaning each creator can decide whether their audience number stays visible or disappears from the public-facing stream page. It’s a clear departure from the industry standard, where live viewer counts have always been front and center.
Live viewer counts are one of the most important metrics in streaming. They drive social proof, shape browsing behavior, and often decide whether someone clicks into a stream or scrolls past it. Big numbers attract more eyes. Small numbers can scare viewers away before the content even gets a chance.
A lot of practical questions remain unanswered. It’s unclear whether streamers can still see their own count privately, whether moderators have access, and whether hidden numbers still show up through Kick’s API or third-party analytics trackers. There’s also no confirmation on how category sorting will work for streams that hide their count, or whether hiding the number affects ranking and recommendations at all.
Kick CEO Ed Craven, known online as StakeEddie, hinted that categories on the platform may shift toward a recommendation engine rather than relying purely on raw viewer count to sort streams. If true, that would pair the new toggle with a broader change in how Kick surfaces content.
A familiar playbook
The move draws obvious comparisons to YouTube hiding public dislike counts back in 2021, where the platform kept the data internally but removed it from public view. Twitch, meanwhile, still shows live viewer counts to everyone, though streamers can hide the number from themselves in the dashboard. Kick is going a step further by hiding it from the audience too.
The feature could be a win for smaller creators who get judged by their double-digit viewer counts before anyone watches a second of their stream. On the flip side, hidden numbers may quickly become a signal that a streamer has nothing impressive to show, which could limit who actually uses the toggle.
