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YouTube Live Chat Viewer

When chat is part of the show, it should be easy for everyone to follow. YouTube Live Chat Viewer displays YouTube chat inside your XSplit scene. It works great for gameplay, Q&A sessions, webinars and community streams.


A lonely chat viewer source in the middle of a scene.



Adding and Connecting the Live Chat Viewer



  1. Click on Add Source then select YouTube WidgetsYouTube Live Chat Viewer.
  2. Right-click the Live Chat Viewer source on your canvas to show the Properties window.
  3. Click on Authorize XSplit to use YouTube Live then follow the authorization steps. (Choose the channel used by your stream.)
  4. Leave Source on Automatic or select a scheduled or active event manually.
Live chat must be enabled for the selected event. The widget must use the same channel as your YouTube Live output.


YouTube Live Chat Viewer Properties


The Chat tab lets you adjust the overlay and design of the viewer.



Property

What it changes

Chat Box and Opacity

Background color and transparency.

Viewers

Font and color for viewer names.

Messages

Font and color for messages.

Text Size

Size of names and messages.

Hide user icons

Removes channel icons to save space.

Hide timestamps

Removes the time beside each message.

Hide chat when idle

Hides the overlay after the selected idle period.


Use a partly opaque background over moving video. For narrow chat columns, hiding icons and timestamps gives messages more room. Hide chat when idle works well when you only want the overlay visible during active conversations.


The Blocking tab prevents selected users from appearing in the overlay. Enter the viewer's YouTube name or username and click Add. To restore their messages, select them under Blocked Users and click Remove.



Blocking here only changes the XSplit overlay. Use YouTube's live chat moderation tools to delete messages, assign moderators or hide users from the channel. You can also manage subscriber-only and members-only chat.



Updated on: 24/08/2026

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