Emotes are one of the best things about Twitch and Twitch Culture as we know it. No doubt, there are tons of streamers who worked as hard as they could to get Twitch affiliate just so they could have their very own emotes they could use on the platform. Anywhere you go, you’ll see emotes being used – there’s literally no escaping them.
But why is it that sometimes, you can’t see the actual emotes on Twitch chat?
Can’t See Emotes On Twitch
Why can’t I see emotes on Twitch? The most common reason for not seeing twitch emotes is not being subscribed to the streamer or not having a third-party emote extensions such as FrankerfaceZ or Better Twitch TV.
Many streamers will use a third-party emote app to offer more emotes to their audience. If you are seeing emotes in text format in the chat, this is likely why emotes are not showing up. Simply install one of these extensions and the emotes will start appearing in your chat.
There are multiple types of emotes on Twitch. Some will be available to everyone with others being more exclusive. Let’s take a look at the different types of emotes.
Types of Twitch Emotes
There are a few kinds of emotes on Twitch:
- Twitch global emotes are emotes built into Twitch that can be used by anyone, anywhere on the platform.
- Sub emotes can only be used by subscribers to specific channels. There are sub emote tiers (1, 2, 3).
- Bit emotes can only be used if you have donated enough bits to unlock the emote for use. These emotes are unlocked permanently, unlike sub emotes which you must pay for monthly.
- 3rd party emotes can only be used/seen if you have the 3rd party browser extension installed – and they only work on PC.
Reasons You Can’t See Twitch Emotes
If you’re seeing tons of people typing the same emote codes and names but the actual graphics aren’t showing up for you, or if you’re trying to use emote codes but it’s not working, it could be because of one of the reasons listed below:
- You aren’t a sub to that channel. If you want to use a specific streamer’s emotes, you have to be subscribed to them. Remember that you can only use the emotes on the tier you are subscribed to. So, if you’re a tier 1 sub, you can’t use tier 2 or tier 3 emotes.
- You haven’t earned the bit emote. Since the addition of bit emotes, streamers now have the ability to reward their loyal viewers with permanent emotes they can unlock if they enough donate bits. If you haven’t donated enough bits to unlock that bit emote tier, you won’t be able to use that special emote.
- You don’t have BTTV or FFZ installed. Many streamers use the Better Twitch TV or FrankerFaceZ browser extensions to augment their channel emotes. If you don’t have one of these browser extensions installed, you won’t be able to see or use certain emotes only available through them. Some emotes are exclusive to each platform.
- You have BTTV/FFZ but you’re on mobile. Unfortunately, neither BTTV nor FFZ work on mobile, so even if you have both services activated, you still won’t see the emotes in your mobile chat.
- Cookies & Cache Blocking Emotes – Occasionally your cache will block emotes from appearing in chat. Simply go your browser history and clear your cache to resolve the problem.
Why Some Emotes Show But Not Others
You may notice that some of the emotes you are trying to use are working but others aren’t. This is not a glitch.
Between Frankerfacez & BTTV a streamer can choose up to 40 emotes to make available on their channel. If you are trying to use an emote that the streamers hasn’t added to their channel it will not work.
Also, if the streamer hasn’t enabled these apps on their stream you won’t see 3rd party emotes.
3rd Party Extensions to Help You See Twitch Emotes
Tons of streamers on Twitch use third-party extensions like Better Twitch TV (BTTV) or FrankerFaceZ (FFZ) so they can enable many popular emotes on their chat. If the streamer you’re watching is using BTTV or FFZ and you don’t have either installed, you won’t see when the emotes are being used in chat.
How to Install BTTV
Installing BTTV is as simple as going to their website and downloading the extension for your browser. Enable it, and you should be good to go – though you may need a refresh or two for the emotes to start showing up.
How to Install FFZ
Installing FFZ is similar to installing BTTV – just go to the website and download the extension for your browser. Enable it, and you should be good to go!
Additional Features and Tips
It’s possible for both BTTV and FFZ to be installed at the same time. They don’t have any issues working together, so you can install both and see emotes from both platforms!
BTTV and FFZ have additional features that you can take advantage of by clicking the gear icon at the bottom of any chat box. You can then see “BetterTTV Settings” or “FrankerFaceZ Control Center”, where you can fiddle with settings and features. Careful not to overlap features from both!
Wrapping Up
It can be frustrating not to be able to see Twitch emotes sometimes, especially if there’s nothing you can do about it (like when you’re on mobile). But, with the right 3rd party extensions, you should be able to see some of the most common emotes used on Twitch today!
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