In 2022, YouTube Gaming added a feature that allowed streamers and their viewers to gift memberships on the platform, but how does it work?
In May 2022, Rachell ‘Valkyrae‘ Hofstetter broke the news that YouTube Gaming has made it possible for streamers and their viewers to gift memberships to others. This feature was absent from the video-sharing platform.
Now, as a YouTuber, you can give channel memberships as a gift to other viewers. To be eligible to receive the same, you have to opt in.
Memberships can be given during a live stream or premiere. On top of that, channel members can buy memberships as gifts or as gifts that are only for a month of membership for that channel.
YouTube will then go on to give away these membership gifts to other viewers of the channel. To be eligible for Membership gifting, viewers will need to opt in and they will receive access to the membership perks for a month.
This is one of the ways to support your favorite YouTuber while growing their membership base.
If you want to know how to send and receive gifted memberships on YouTube, we’ve got you covered.
Tomorrow's🎁: YouTube’s Memberships Gifting beta for select channels!You'll be able to gift channel memberships to others in the chat & they’ll get access to perks like badges & emojis.Details & Eligibility: https://t.co/Nx1nyPWEaK pic.twitter.com/1IEBIcUZgv
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) May 10, 2022
How to gift a membership on YouTube Gaming
Gifting memberships on YouTube Gaming is simple. All you need to do is click on the dollar icon button next to the live chat of the channel. There, you’ll be able to purchase gift memberships for live streams and pass them on to others.
The dollar sign will lead you to a few options from which you have to choose ‘Membership gifting’. YouTube will then give you some options regarding the number of gifts you can buy.
You can then go ahead with completing your transaction. Viewers of the live chat will be able to see the number of gifts you bought and the viewer who gets the membership will also receive notifications.
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Note: Membership gifting is only available on desktop live streams.
Memberships will be distributed among viewers based on how much they interact with a streamer’s channel. Naturally, that means the most loyal and dedicated viewers have a better chance of receiving them.
How to receive gifted memberships
If you’re a viewer who wants to be eligible to receive a gifted membership, without being a member of the channel, you’ll need to follow these steps.
First, you will have to opt-in and there are two ways to do so. One is from the live chat and the other is from the membership offer screen.
To opt-in through the live chat, you will have to click on the gift icon and choose ‘Allow Gifts’ when an announcement pops up after the streamer you’re watching purchases membership gifting.
Another way to ‘Allow Gifts’ is through the chat when the notification pops up. Meanwhile, to opt-in through the membership offer screen, you will have to click on ‘Join’ and then the three-dot menu.
Choose ‘gift settings’ from the menu to allow gifts. This is only available on desktop and YouTube is soon planning to bring it in mobile too.
However, it’s important to note that membership gifting is only available for viewers watching streams on their computers. YouTube is working on bringing it to their mobile app at a later date, though it hasn’t been locked in yet.
YouTube teased the feature back in February 2022. Now they’ve made it a reality, and they’re not stopping there. They’ve also added a Live Redirect raid feature, although it reportedly still needs some work.