Polaris Chat

Changelog

What’s new

New features and fixes in Polaris Chat, newest first, dated the day each one went live. The homepage’s live preview shows featured creators’ public chat. When no featured creator is live on at least two platforms, sample chat plays instead. Your own chat shows only in your workspace.

A sturdier live preview, and reliability fixes

Improved

  • The homepage’s live preview is sturdier: it now keeps up when many more people visit at the same time.

Fixed

  • Signing in, resetting your password and live chat in your workspace are now more reliable.

North Star sparkles, and a sky in light mode

Added

  • Light mode gets a homepage sky of its own: a pale daytime sky with blue North Star sparkles. Like the dark sky, it drifts gently with your mouse, or stays still if your device asks for reduced motion.

Improved

  • The homepage sky now has North Star sparkles: in dark mode, the brighter stars are the four-point star from our logo.

TikTok LIVE in the live preview

Added

  • The homepage’s live preview now shows TikTok LIVE chat, gifts, follows and subscriptions when a featured creator is live there.

Improved

  • The live preview now features a creator only while they’re live on at least two platforms, and plays sample chat otherwise.
  • Messages from known chat bots, such as Nightbot and StreamElements, no longer appear in the live preview.
  • While a creator’s Kick stream is in the Slots & Casino category, the live preview skips that creator on every platform.
  • We refreshed the list of featured creators.

Good to know

  • TikTok LIVE in the preview uses an unofficial connection. It can miss messages, and it may stop working if TikTok changes or blocks it.
  • The preview shows TikTok LIVE as text, without pictures, likes or joins.

TikTok LIVE in your workspace

Added

  • TikTok LIVE chat in your workspace: add your TikTok username on Platforms, and your LIVE’s chat appears beside your other chats. There’s no TikTok sign-in.
  • TikTok LIVE chat shows profile pictures, badges, fan club levels and TikTok emotes, and mentions of you stand out.
  • Gifts count up in place as a streak grows, with a gift tray above the chat. Gifts, likes, follows, shares and subscriptions also show in Activity.
  • Likes from the same viewer are combined for 30 seconds, with hearts. New viewers get a short “joined” notice, and Platforms shows how many people are watching.
  • In Settings, you can turn off TikTok LIVE like notifications and hearts, gifts and the gift tray, join notifications, viewer counts, or profile and badge pictures.

Improved

  • Polaris Chat has a new logo: a chat bubble with our North Star.

Good to know

  • TikTok LIVE chat can only be read in Polaris Chat: you can’t reply or moderate there.
  • TikTok doesn’t offer apps like Polaris Chat a way to receive LIVE chat, so Polaris Chat uses an unofficial connection. It can miss messages, and it may stop working if TikTok changes or blocks it.
  • Polaris Chat can’t check that a TikTok username is yours, so add only your own.
  • As with Kick and X, TikTok LIVE chat picks up where it left off after your browser pauses your workspace for up to five minutes, unless more than 500 messages and events arrive meanwhile or Polaris Chat is very busy.

YouTube without an invite, and clearer YouTube moderation

Added

  • You can now connect YouTube without an invite. Until Google finishes reviewing Polaris Chat, Google shows a warning first and may limit how many people can connect YouTube.
  • On YouTube, a viewer’s name in your chat now opens their YouTube channel, and so does their name when you ban them or time them out.
  • On YouTube, replying, deleting, banning and timing out now show which of your channels you’re acting as.
  • Privacy and Terms links now sit at the bottom of your workspace and of every account page, so they’re always one click away.

Improved

  • YouTube logos in your chat, Activity details and Platforms now open YouTube: your own channel, a viewer’s channel beside their message, or YouTube’s home page.
  • Twitch, Kick, X and TikTok LIVE logos sit on new rounded tiles, so they no longer look like YouTube’s.
  • If you remove Polaris Chat from your Google Account, Polaris Chat now deletes your YouTube connection as soon as it notices, and within 30 days at the latest.
  • Disconnecting YouTube or deleting your account now says plainly what it deletes, and that it doesn’t delete anything on YouTube.
  • On YouTube, the reply box now shows the name your reply starts with, and your reply keeps the spacing you typed.

Good to know

  • If you don’t use YouTube chat for 29 days, Polaris Chat deletes your YouTube connection, and you connect YouTube again.

A starry homepage, and only your name stands out

Added

  • In dark mode, the homepage has a new starry background that drifts gently with your mouse. It stays still if your device asks for reduced motion.

Improved

  • In your chat, only mentions of you now stand out. Mentions of anyone else look like the rest of the message.

Fixed

  • Kick and X chat now pick up where they left off when your browser pauses your workspace in the background for up to five minutes.

Good to know

  • On YouTube, a mention of you stands out when it uses your channel’s handle.
  • If the pause lasts more than five minutes, or more than 500 messages and events arrive during it, Kick and X chat miss some messages, and their status says the messages from that time aren’t shown.
  • If you change your username on Kick or X, reconnect it on Platforms so mentions of your new name stand out.

Unbans on Twitch, and quicker YouTube replies

Added

  • Once you’ve allowed replies and moderation on Twitch, an unban or a removed timeout made on twitch.tv shows in your chat, with who did it.

Improved

  • Your own YouTube replies now show in your chat as soon as you send them.
  • Mentions in chat are now white in dark mode and sit on a grey highlight in light mode, and the name a reply answers is blue.
  • On YouTube, Kick and X, mentions in a message now stand out, as on Twitch.

Fixed

  • When YouTube won’t undo a ban, the confirmation now says so in plain words.

Good to know

  • On YouTube, Polaris Chat can’t end a timeout early: it ends on its own when its time is up.
  • To show unbans made on twitch.tv, select Allow on Twitch once more in your Twitch chat’s status.
  • Kick and YouTube don’t tell Polaris Chat about unbans made on their own sites.

Twitch and YouTube chat stay connected

Added

  • Twitch Bits and Power-ups now show in Activity.

Improved

  • Twitch and YouTube chat now stay connected: approve once, and every new tab and reload starts your chat by itself, without a trip to Twitch or Google.
  • YouTube chat no longer asks you to check it’s you every hour.
  • Your YouTube connection now lasts as long as you use YouTube chat. You connect it again only if you don’t use it for 30 days.

Fixed

  • Signing out, or an update to Polaris Chat, no longer stops your X chat until you reconnect X.

Good to know

  • The first time after this update, Twitch and Google each ask you to approve once more.
  • Until Google approves Polaris Chat, Google asks you to approve YouTube chat again every 7 days.
  • If you allowed or used replying and moderating on X in the 12 hours before this update, X chat asks you to reconnect X once after it.

Moderation notes, and clearer replies

Added

  • Your chat now notes deleted messages, timeouts, bans and Undo, as Twitch and YouTube Studio do.
  • A deleted message stays folded where it was, with a button to view it again. It’s kept only in your open workspace, until you reload it.
  • On YouTube and Kick, a timeout or ban usually names the moderator who did it, and says how long a timeout lasts.

Improved

  • The Reply button now says “Reply”, so it’s easier to find.
  • A reply shows more clearly who it answers, with an arrow and their name above it, in your workspace and on the homepage preview.
  • The blue line between panels lights up only after your pointer rests on it, not every time it crosses.

Fixed

  • When Kick won’t undo a timeout or ban, the confirmation says how to undo it in your Kick chat.

Good to know

  • On Twitch, a timeout or ban usually names who did it once you’ve allowed Polaris Chat to moderate there.
  • Polaris Chat can’t see who deleted a message on Twitch or X.
  • YouTube and Kick don’t tell Polaris Chat when a message is deleted on their own sites, so it stays in your chat.
  • On X, a deleted message can’t be viewed again: X asks apps not to keep it.

Reply and moderate from your chat

Added

  • Point at a message in your workspace to reply to it, delete it, or time out or ban the person who sent it, on Twitch, YouTube, Kick and X.
  • Undo a timeout or ban from the confirmation that appears.
  • This What’s new page, linked at the bottom of every public page.

Improved

  • The homepage, the Privacy notice and the Terms of use explain replying and moderating.

Good to know

  • Polaris Chat acts only when you click, and only in your own channels’ chat. It never replies or moderates on its own.
  • Each platform asks for your OK once, on its own page, the first time you reply or moderate there.
  • Kick and X ask for your OK again after you sign out, after 12 hours without using it, and whenever Polaris Chat’s server restarts.
  • X has no bans, so on X Polaris Chat mutes instead.
  • On YouTube, replies, timeouts and bans work only while you’re live, and each action uses part of Polaris Chat’s daily YouTube allowance.

A new workspace and X live chat

Added

  • A new workspace with four sections: Chat, Activity, Platforms and Settings. A status chip at the top shows whether every chat is on.
  • Your chats start on their own when your workspace opens: Kick and X straight away, Twitch and YouTube after a quick check on their own sites.
  • A welcome, a setup checklist and a short tour for new workspaces.
  • Swap the chat and Activity panels, or Split’s columns, from the divider between them.
  • X live chat in your workspace: the chat from your X live broadcasts appears beside your other chats.

Improved

  • Stopping a chat keeps its messages on screen, with a “stopped at” line after them. A chat you turn off stays off in that browser.
  • Leaving your workspace while a chat is on asks first.
  • Activity looks like the homepage preview, with compact rows and filters by kind. Raids on your Twitch channel show there too.
  • Platform logos match, and chatters’ names keep their own colors: Twitch purple and Kick green by default.
  • Your account’s details, password, sign-out and account deletion are now in Settings.
  • Clearer sign-in, sign-up and password reset pages, and a homepage that shows which platforms work today.
  • The homepage’s live preview leaves out messages with crude words.

Fixed

  • On phones, your chat no longer gets pushed off the screen when several chats are on.
  • “Open Twitch channel” in Activity opens your own channel.
  • Kick chat in the homepage’s live preview works again.

Good to know

  • When you turn on X chat, X usually takes about 20 seconds to answer.

Kick chat in your workspace

Added

  • Kick live chat in your workspace, with subs, gifted subs, KICKs and follows in Activity.

YouTube chat in your workspace

Added

  • YouTube live chat in your workspace, with Super Chats, Super Stickers and memberships in Activity.
  • Connect your X account.

Good to know

  • Google asks you to confirm it’s you every hour to keep YouTube chat on.
  • Messages deleted on YouTube itself stay on screen in Polaris Chat, because YouTube doesn’t report deletions.
  • Connecting X doesn’t bring X chat yet.

Connect YouTube and Kick, and a calmer chat

Added

  • Connect your YouTube channel and your Kick account, alongside Twitch.

Improved

  • A calmer chat: tidier platform logos, Twitch badges as pictures, and message times when you point at a message.
  • Split shows a column only for the platforms you use.
  • Twitch badges show as pictures in the homepage’s live preview too.

Good to know

  • Connecting YouTube is invite only for now, until Google approves Polaris Chat.
  • YouTube’s rules mean Polaris Chat asks you to reconfirm your channel every 30 days.
  • YouTube and Kick chat don’t show in your workspace yet.

Smoother sign-in

Added

  • Signed in? The homepage offers Open your workspace instead of the preview.

Improved

  • Sign-in, sign-up and workspace addresses typed on www.thepolarischat.com take you to the accounts site.
  • A wrong email or password now says so plainly.
  • Your workspace keeps your view choices when you go back, forward or refresh.

The full workspace, with Twitch activity

Added

  • Your workspace fills the page, like the homepage preview, with Activity beside your chat.
  • Twitch activity in your workspace: new subs, resubs, gifted subs, announcements and new followers, and whether you’re live.

Fixed

  • Twitch chat keeps arriving while your workspace is in a background tab or behind another window.

Good to know

  • Twitch asks you once more, for permission to see your new followers.

Twitch live chat in your workspace

Added

  • Connect your Twitch account. You approve it on Twitch’s own site.
  • Show your Twitch live chat in your workspace as it happens, with emotes.
  • Delete your account yourself, at any time.

Good to know

  • Twitch chat shows while your workspace is open in a browser tab, and it’s never saved.
  • Twitch is the only platform you can connect for now.

Your workspace, set up for you

Added

  • Your workspace is set up for you the first time you open it.

Improved

  • Clearer words and better contrast across the homepage, the legal pages and the account pages.
  • Account pages take you to sign in when you’re signed out.
  • The Privacy notice and the Terms of use name who runs Polaris Chat and set a minimum age of 13.

Sign up from the homepage

Added

  • Sign up and Sign in on the homepage take you to the accounts site.

Fixed

  • Signing out works on iPhone, even while the page is refreshing in the background.

Free accounts

Added

  • Create a free Polaris Chat account: confirm your email, sign in, and reset a forgotten password.
  • Your own workspace. Rename it, and try the Demo, which plays sample chat.
  • Sign out from your workspace.

Good to know

  • The Demo plays made-up sample chat. You can’t connect your own platforms yet.

A tidier homepage

Improved

  • The homepage no longer links to the private test dashboard’s sign-in page.

Our own address

Added

  • Polaris Chat now lives at www.thepolarischat.com.

More ways to read the live preview

Added

  • Unified or Split in the live preview: one combined chat, or a column per platform. Show or hide Activity, and resize the columns.
  • Emotes, badges and replies in the live preview.
  • Activity follows the platform you pick, and a keyboard shortcut jumps to search.

Improved

  • Message times show in your own time zone.

Fixed

  • Split no longer scrolls sideways by a few pixels.

Real chat in the live preview

Added

  • The homepage’s live preview shows a featured creator’s public chat from Twitch, YouTube and Kick as it happens. When no featured creator is live, sample chat plays instead, clearly labeled.
  • An Activity panel beside the live chat, with subs, gifts, raids, Bits, Super Chats, memberships and Kick follows.
  • A Privacy notice and Terms of use.

Improved

  • The live preview pauses only when you scroll up to read or press Pause, and Resume takes you back to the newest messages.

Good to know

  • The live preview shows public chat from a few featured creators. It doesn’t connect your own accounts.
  • TikTok LIVE and X aren’t in the live preview.

The Polaris Chat homepage

Added

  • Polaris Chat’s first public homepage, at a temporary address, with an interactive preview of the workspace that plays sample chat and activity.
  • A private test dashboard that isn’t open to the public. It plays sample data too.

Fixed

  • In the private test dashboard, searching and reading are no longer interrupted by its routine sign-in check every few seconds.

Good to know

  • Everything in the preview is made-up sample data. Polaris Chat doesn’t connect to any platform yet, and you can’t create an account.