What's new on Watchers side? See product updates, news, and interviews with the team.

Watchers

The latest releases introduce new solutions to boost user engagement, education tools for admin panel users, and improved control and management features. Read more, and book a demo call if you’d like to learn more.

The latest release introduces new solutions to boost user engagement, enhanced education tools for admin panel users, and improved control and management features. Read more, and book a demo call if you’d like to learn more.

AI Coach, Spanish back office, and many more

<h2>New features for your users&nbsp;</h2><h3>Personal conversational AI bot&nbsp;</h3>Users watch and cheer on many various events on our clients’ platforms, and of course, they cannot be experts in all of them by default. So, they used to need to go somewhere else to Google and search for all the desired information about athletes, teams, results, and more. Now, they can get all of these right in a chat. Due <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/ai-assistants">to AI Coach, an AI agent </a>that finds and shares sports info with your users in a private convo or in a public chat. Learn more about our new functions or try to ask AI Coach yourself <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/stands">on the demo stand.</a><h3>Giveaway-bot</h3>You can run the giveaway quizzes for your users in a chat. Engage them more and grow retention at the same time: if your users joined the quiz, they will definitely come back to know the results. You can run such quizzes for all users or for those with specific badges.The bot can be activated through the admin panel.<h2>New opportunities in the back office</h2><h3>User profile, and search</h3>You can find any user who visited your chat even once and use this userID or nickname. Besides this, you can check the last activity of these users, their avatars, nicknames, messages, as well as bans if they were banned and reports if they were reported. Using these user pages, you can also manage them, for example, reset avatars or nicknames if they break some rules.<h3>Spanish back office</h3>The back office interface switches the language according to your browser settings. Still, you can also choose the needed language manually.<h3>Educational videos</h3>We’ve added video guides that will help you to learn the admin panel, its settings and functions, and how to operate with the best results you can achieve.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1928/1088;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/06bb0e0b-30ca-4008-b7f6-6642f0b85816.png" width="1928" height="1088"></figure><h3>Data on marketing offer usage</h3>You can download the useIDs of users who viewed and engaged with your marketing offers, in-feed and pop-ups. You can reuse this info for more precise management of your promo and marketing activities.<h3>Pre-moderation managing</h3>Now, even default blocking lists can be set up or turned off. Manage pre-moderation as you wish, and add new filter lists more conveniently.<h2>Additional control</h2><h3>Limits for sharing</h3>If you use any of our social widgets, you can restrict how many times users can send the same win, deal, or bet in a chat. The setting is optional; the number can be limited on the widget settings page on the admin panel.<h3>Read-only mode opportunities</h3>You can decide on your own how <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/read-only-mode-in-no-auth-zone#/">read-only mode </a>will look on your chat. You can add a button, link, or just explain what users should do to join the conversation. Also, you can set specific information widgets just for read-only users.<h2>Small improvements</h2><ul><li>Badges with triggers: you can award your users not only for future actions but also retrospectively.</li><li>Communication mode became even more convenient: decide from a regular user or admin you want to communicate in a chat.</li><li>Video changes its layout when the user changes the device orientation while watching. So, video watching in a chat becomes more natural and habitual.</li><li>We’ve started to inform you about the dashboard updates. See the exact time and date when the metrics were updated last.</li><li>Badge tooltips can be multilingual, as is your whole chat. Just add all necessary variations while setting up the badge, and the tooltips will be shown accordingly with the interface language of the user.</li><li>Users can send HEIX images in a chat.</li><li>While creating the badge, you can use the HEX code to choose the specific colour.&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;And of course, besides this, we always work with the security of our chats to guarantee all our clients and their users the most comfortable and trusted environments for exchanging ideas and emotions.<h2>Get in touch</h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Inter;font-size:0.9375vw;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.35417vw;margin:0px 0px 1.30208vw;orphans:2;outline:0px;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;border:1pt none windowtext;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:16.1px;margin:0px;outline:0px;padding:0cm;vertical-align:baseline;" lang="EN-GB" dir="ltr">Please <a style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(87, 89, 255);font-family:Inter;font-size:0.9375vw;font-style:inherit;font-weight:400;line-height:1.35417vw;margin:0px;outline:0px;overflow-wrap:break-word;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:color 0.4s;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://calendly.com/watchers-platform/social-tools-for-your?month=2025-08"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;border:1pt none windowtext;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:16.1px;margin:0px;outline:0px;padding:0cm;vertical-align:baseline;" lang="EN-GB" dir="ltr">get in touch with us</a><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;border:1pt none windowtext;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:16.1px;margin:0px;outline:0px;padding:0cm;vertical-align:baseline;" lang="EN-GB" dir="ltr"> if you'd like to integrate community chats with your website or app. We'll be happy to help you find the best solution.&nbsp;

An AI assistant will help with the back office, triggers for badges award your users automatically... Read to know about other improvements for the best and clearest experience.

Discover the latest Watchers community chat platform updates: automated badge triggers, enhanced user experience, paywall integration, and powerful back office tools to boost engagement and monetisation.

Last Product Updates: New Features & Enhancements

<h2>Triggers for Badges</h2>We’ve added triggers to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/badges">our badge system</a>. Now, our clients can build an automated badge experience. This means your users can earn badges by sending a certain number of messages, frequently reacting (e.g., Chat Empath), or maintaining a streak – for example, by using chats regularly. This helps users feel more engaged, similar to how Duolingo motivates learners.<h2>Look and Feel in Chat</h2>We prioritise making the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/perfect-UX-criteria-watchers">end-user experience simple and enjoyable</a>. Digitally savvy users engage with multiple messengers and social platforms, and they have high expectations. That’s why, over the past month, we’ve introduced several minor improvements to make users feel as comfortable as possible:<ul><li>Swipe to reply</li><li>A selected image gallery</li></ul><h2>Paywall in Chat</h2>Previously, chats could be shown in read-only mode. Now, you can place <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/readonly-mode-ui">a paywall over chat.</a> Why is this useful? It enables you to transform the chat feature into a powerful conversion tool. You can restrict chat access to subscribers or users who have completed specific actions. The paywall doesn’t just block the chat – it explains its value and communicates what users need to do to gain access.<h2>Back Office Improvements</h2>Since our chats are managed via a back office, it must remain user-friendly and familiar. Here’s what we’ve recently improved:<ul><li>New statuses and templates for marketing offers</li><li><code data-start="1652" data-end="1665">postMessage</code> support for theme, language, and coefficient changes without reloading the chat</li><li>Avatar settings flow redesigned: you can now choose between platform-driven avatars, which you provide from your primary platform, and user-controlled avatars, which users select or upload.</li><li>Support for various language code formats</li><li>An assistant who helps you find an answer to any question about the admin panel usage and creates a ticket if the problem hasn't been solved</li></ul><p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Inter;font-size:0.9375vw;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.38;margin:0pt 0px;orphans:2;outline:0px;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;margin:0px;outline:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">***<p style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Inter;font-size:0.9375vw;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.38;margin:0pt 0px;orphans:2;outline:0px;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" dir="ltr"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;margin:0px;outline:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Please fill out the form below if you'd like to integrate community-based live chat or other social tools into your website or app. We will help you find the best solution for your engagement strategy.&nbsp;

Fans are the heart of any sports club or brand, and you must ensure fan engagement is done right. Discover how to increase fan engagement in sports with these best practices and fan engagement strategies.

Fan engagement should be a top priority for sports clubs and brands, given that it can improve ticket sales and brand reputation. Learn what fan engagement in sports is, why it’s beneficial, and eight fan engagement strategies you can use.

From Fans to Family: How to Increase Fan Engagement in Sports

We've been working behind the scenes to bring you some updates that improve how you manage and engage with your communities. From new roles to advanced analytics, let's dive deeper.

Discover the latest Watchers live chat updates to boost engagement and enhance your engagement strategy. New analytics, custom avatars, and improved moderation features.

Product Updates: New Features & Enhancements

<h2>Introducing the Community Manager Role</h2>Managing your community just got easier and safer. We’ve added <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/main-roles-in-chats#/">a&nbsp;community manager role</a> to the admin panel, giving your team more flexibility in assigning permissions.What can community managers do?<ul><li style="margin-bottom:0.2vw;">Access all messages, rooms, and moderation.</li><li style="margin-bottom:0.2vw;">Manage widgets.</li><li style="margin-bottom:0.2vw;">Handle technical support requests and export data reports.</li><li style="margin-bottom:0.2vw;">Customise stickers, reactions, and language settings.</li><li style="margin-bottom:0.2vw;">View analytics and information sections.</li></ul>You can update an admin panel user's role at any time if needed. More control, less hassle!<h2>New Analytics Features</h2><h3>30-Day Retention Dashboard</h3>Want to understand how well your platform retains users? Head to analytics to explore the necessary data and track engagement over time.<h3>Active Users Per Hour</h3>Ever wondered when your chats are buzzing the most? Now, you can see peak activity times by going to analytics and selecting your preferred time period.<h2>AI-Powered Semantic Analysis</h2>Analyse chat conversations with ease. You can now transfer messages directly to our AI model for semantic analysis. Simply go to Semantic Analysis, select a time period, and let the AI do the heavy lifting.<h2>User Avatars: More Customisation Options</h2>What if your users want to have their cats or favourite actors on avatars? We’re giving users more ways to personalise their profiles. Admins can now enable user-uploaded avatars while ensuring content safety with AI moderation.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/avatars-and-user-profile#/">Three avatar options:</a><ol><li>Preset avatars only: users select from a predefined set.</li><li>Custom avatars only: Users upload their own images.</li><li>Both options enabled: Users can choose between preset or custom avatars.</li></ol>Admins and moderators can review and block inappropriate images manually if you find that AI options are not enough. And as with all our features, you can activate or deactivate it in settings.<h2>Stickers for Users with Badges</h2>Want to make stickers more exclusive and award users with something special? You can now <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/stickers#/">link a sticker pack to a specific badge</a>, allowing only users with that badge to use it. Exclusive perks made easy!<h2>Easy Invitation Links for Admin Panel Users</h2><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/main-roles-in-chats#/">Inviting new admin panel users</a> is now seamless. Admins can generate invitation links with expiration dates and even revoke or regenerate them if needed. Only admins can create these links, ensuring secure access.<h2>Shadow Ban for All Rooms</h2>Previously, shadow bans only applied to specific rooms. Now, when <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/moderation-management#/">moderators</a> shadow-ban a user, their messages will be invisible in all rooms. If you lift the ban, their new messages will become visible again everywhere. A smoother way to maintain community integrity!<hr style="margin-bottom:1vw;">Have any questions? Feel free to contact the Watchers team by emailing us at hello@watchers.io.Happy chatting! 🚀 &nbsp;

Discover how building in-app fitness communities boosts retention and user engagement for workout apps. Learn from top industry examples.

Any app has a big goal: to retain users. If your users try your app and never return, no other big goal will work. Each app has its own mission. For health apps, the mission is to help users stay active and healthy. If users don’t return after trying

Why do fitness and workout apps so crucially need in-app communities?

<div style="font-size:18px;line-height:1;" id="toc">Table of Contents<div style="font-size:14px;line-height:1;" id="toc"><a href="#motivation-gap">The Motivation Gap: What Fitness Apps Lack</a><a href="#Hyper-Socialisation">Hyper-Socialisation: A Natural Fitness Trend</a><a href="#app-features-that-drive-retention">Fitness Communities: App Features that Drive Retention</a><a href="#win-win-of-community">The Win-Win of Community Building in Fitness Apps</a><a href="#get-in-touch">Get in Touch</a><hr>Any app has a big goal: to retain users. If your users try your app and never return, no other major goal will be achieved. Each app has its own mission. For health apps, the mission is to help users stay active and healthy. If users don’t return after trying your app, your mission has failed, as have their goals of becoming healthy with your help.A study by Endeavour Partners reported that more than 70% of health app users stop using the app in two weeks or less. This indicates that only a small percentage of users successfully build a habit with well-being apps, often losing motivation and failing to achieve their goals. This is not the users’ fault—it’s a problem with the app’s development. However, it becomes the users' problem because if an app fails to engage them, they may lose interest in pursuing healthy habits altogether.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:1982/1310;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/fcde8167-a15f-48de-83f0-a01cccf7f393.webp" width="1982" height="1310"></figure><h2 id="motivation-gap">The Motivation Gap: What Fitness Apps Lack</h2>Why does this happen? What discourages users, and what are fitness apps missing? The answer often lies in a lack of motivation and a sense of community.People who give up on health and sports apps need more than an internal drive to improve—they need external motivation. This is especially important for digital products that are easy to postpone or ignore.<h2 id="Hyper-Socialisation">Hyper-Socialisation: A Natural Fitness Trend</h2>Experts are now discussing hyper-socialisation, similar to the hyper-personalisation trend we discussed in<a style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/main-trends-tech-communication-entertainment-2025"> </a><a style="background-color:transparent;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://watchers.io/post/main-trends-tech-communication-entertainment-2025">our recent article</a>. Hyper-socialisation means that being part of a community is no longer a bonus—it’s a necessity.Users now want to socialise while gaming, cooking, trading, or watching football. Since the beginning, sports and training have been social activities, with gyms serving as places for communication, opinion-sharing, and showing off. You can make friends or rivals, admire local stars, or share tips on staying in shape.During the pandemic, many people switched to home workouts, and although this change offered time and cost savings, it didn’t eliminate the need for socialisation. We still want to share our progress, ask for advice, receive support, and compare results. Hyper-socialisation isn’t just a digital trend—it’s a natural human behaviour.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:2062/1362;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/58784efb-9660-43e2-ba1a-1d0a17aa9a84.webp" width="2062" height="1362"></figure><h2 id="app-features-that-drive-retention">Fitness Communities: App Features that Drive Retention</h2>Let’s look at some features that help build in-app fitness communities, along with examples of apps that use them to drive retention and user satisfaction:Fitocracy transforms workouts into a social game, allowing members to track their progress, follow others’ progress, complete challenges, and earn badges. This basic gamification works because it motivates users to stay active, contributing to both personal growth and app engagement.ChallengeRunner leverages people’s competitive spirit by offering competitions and challenges. Users earn badges that increase their motivation and help them stick to their workout routines—and the app itself.Strava is a popular tracking and community platform for sports enthusiasts. It emphasises community as a core feature, enabling users to share activities, comment on others' posts, and join group activities.Myzone awards points based on calorie burn to indicate progress. Users can also share their metrics and photos, creating a social ecosystem that aims to replace Facebook and Instagram fitness communities.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:872/1262;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/ffce3b1b-38cb-4d8a-afcf-616718ade5fb.webp" width="872" height="1262"></figure>Zwift showcases user stories about milestone achievements. Users can set goals, and the community can follow their progress. This inspires both achievers and others who haven’t yet set goals to get started.Peloton allows official trainers to host live classes, engage with users, provide feedback, and build influencer-style communities within the app.<h2 id="win-win-of-community">The Win-Win of Community Building in Fitness Apps</h2>Building a community within a fitness app is a win-win solution—the app benefits from improved retention, lifetime value (LTV), and other key metrics. Users gain motivation and encouragement, recognition from their peers, and the chance to become influencers themselves. They also receive the support they need to achieve their goals more easily and enjoyably—without relying solely on self-discipline.<hr style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><h2 id="get-in-touch">Get in Touch</h2>Please <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://calendly.com/watchers-platform/social-tools-for-your?month=2025-08">book a call</a> if you'd like to integrate community-based live chat or other social tools into your website or app. We will help you find the best solution for your engagement strategy.</div></div>

You decided to add in-app chat and live-streaming. Now your turn to decide will you build or buy it?

Build or buy? Discover the pros and cons of in-house development vs. SaaS solutions for community chats, copy-betting, and live streaming. Learn how to optimize resources, reduce costs, and achieve faster results with the right approach for business.

Accumulated experience or lessons from mistakes: Buy or build social features for your platform?

<div style="font-size:14px;line-height:1;" id="toc">Table of Contents&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#building-a-feature-in-house">Building a feature in-house</a><a href="#buying-saas">Buying SaaS</a><a href="#outcome">So, what’s the outcome?</a><a href="#get-in-touch">Get in Touch</a><hr></div>Many companies face a critical dilemma when implementing new functionalities, such as chats, copy-betting, and in-app live streaming, alongside their core product. Should they build the solution in-house with their own team or leverage a specialised B2B SaaS platform?<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:2000/1332;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/3391ca97-9631-4d1c-b665-3f4af3812122.jpg" alt="is it better to build chat solution or buy a saas - introduction" width="2000" height="1332"></figure>There can be many potential advantages and disadvantages for both answers. We have discussed these two variants with numerous potential clients, and we have decided to provide more detailed guidance on making the right choice.<h2 id="building-a-feature-in-house">Building a feature in-house</h2>Companies that lean towards building in-house see the following reasons.1. Resource optimisationCompanies may believe they can distribute costs across existing team members without significantly increasing overhead.2. Strategic alignmentBuilding in-house ensures the solution aligns closely with the company’s vision and strategy, avoiding “not quite right” products from the market. People who build in-house perfectly know and understand the needs and peculiarities of the company and can build something unique and fit for their specific product.3. Developing internal expertiseCreating the product internally can gradually build valuable expertise within the team, so its members can support and maintain this service, not only building it but keeping it in its initial state.4. ControlRelying on in-house resources eliminates external risks like vendor market exit, ownership changes, or pricing shifts. Also, they know everything happening with the feature perfectly: all crushes and all good feedback. Complete control is usually the main reason (perhaps after finances) for building the solution in-house.<figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:2000/1200;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/27ce3d71-5c57-42c3-8d1e-6ec3ab0a9e6f.jpg" alt="why building in-house can look as a good idea" width="2000" height="1200"></figure><h3>Reality check✅</h3>While the idea of the building seems appealing for control and alignment, the reality often unveils hidden challenges.Despite these arguments, building in-house comes with significant challenges.Specific expertise cannot be replacedWithout a dedicated team, the product often remains at the MVP stage and fails to deliver meaningful results.Risk of dilutionFocusing on secondary products can detract from the core offering, stretching resources thin or the opposite—your team always have more prior tasks, and the feature will be underdeveloped.Unpredictable outcomesExperimenting with new features involves a lengthy trial-and-error process, which consumes time and budget without guaranteeing success. Because this feature is new to you, you will face many unexpected problems.Escalating costsInitial development costs can balloon as the product requires continuous improvements to stay relevant.Delayed ROIEven in an optimistic scenario, a functional MVP takes more than half a year to complete, and tangible results may only appear after extensive testing and iteration, which often lasts well over a year.<h2 id="buying-saas">Buying SaaS</h2>Using a specialised B2B SaaS platform offers a range of benefits.&nbsp;Access to the most relevant teamSaaS solutions are built and maintained by dedicated teams with deep expertise, often at a cost lower than assembling an in-house team.Leveraging сollective wisdomSaaS platforms incorporate feedback and best practices from numerous clients, ensuring a more refined and effective product from the start. So, you don’t need to learn from your mistakes: use accumulated experience.Cost PredictabilitySaaS comes with clear, manageable pricing structures, reducing financial uncertainty.Faster ResultsWith no lengthy development phase, SaaS users can implement a new feature in days and see measurable outcomes within weeks, not months or years.Flexibility to transitionIt’s possible to start with SaaS to test the waters and later switch to building in-house if the solution makes sense for your business.<h3>Reality check✅</h3>Different SaaS companies offer various business models and communication schemes. Thus, disadvantages can vary, from implementation difficulties to a lack of flexibility: not all details and wishes can be released, and not all improvements appear as soon as desired.<h2 id="outcome">As a result</h2>The choice between building in-house or buying a SaaS solution depends on your company’s priorities, resources, and timeline. Building offers control and alignment but often at the cost of time, focus, and escalating expenses. SaaS, on the other hand, provides a faster, more efficient path to results with access to expert insights and proven solutions.For most companies, starting with SaaS is a pragmatic approach, enabling rapid implementation and cost-effective scaling while leaving the door open for future in-house development if needed. However, you need to have a checklist with questions and choose a SaaS company that perfectly meets your needs and offers you the solution and features you and your end-users will be happy to try.<hr><h2 id="get-in-touch">Get in Touch</h2><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://calendly.com/watchers-platform/social-tools-for-your">Book a call</a> if you'd like to integrate in-app community chats with the high-level moderation system into your website, app, or game. We'll be happy to help you find the best solution.

Number of messages, new regions, and exciting features: here are the highlights of 2024.

Discover the highlights of 2024: innovative live-streaming tools, enhanced APIs, an upgraded admin panel, advanced AI moderation, and increased user engagement. Learn how we empower platforms to build thriving communities.

Swift Glance at 2024

<div style="font-size:14px;line-height:1;" id="toc">Table of Contents&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#product-updates">Product Updates</a><a href="#new-clients">New Clients</a><a href="#events-expos">Events, Expos, and Prizes</a><a href="#main-numbers">Main Numbers</a><hr><h2 id="product-updates">Product Updates</h2><h3>Exciting Opportunities for Live-Streaming</h3>We’ve launched advanced in-app tools for live streaming to help our partners significantly boost engagement and attract new audiences.While live-streaming is a growing trend, platforms can harness this new user behaviour to build communities and grow businesses. Our tools empower platform owners to host exclusive in-app live streams. Imagine a popular influencer hosting a stream on your platform, and the audience engages in dynamic conversations, exchanges stickers, and shares emotions—all within your service.This not only enhances business metrics but also adds unique content to your platform, elevating the overall user experience.Another approach is reusing content from other platforms. Our tools for embedding external players in chats let you seamlessly embed Twitch, YouTube, Kick, or Facebook players to keep your users entertained.<h3>A Plethora of Powerful APIs</h3>We’ve developed a comprehensive set of APIs to enable platform owners to connect chats with their platforms and manage them conveniently and easily. These APIs include tools for managing badges, marketing offers, audio streams, and AI bots that can be added to community chats to create the most engaging and functional spaces for users.<h3>Highly Developed Back Office</h3>We’ve significantly enhanced the admin panel with various instruments and tools for settings, customisation, localisation, and analytics. All data can be gathered and reviewed in one place. Everything you need is accessible and downloadable directly from the admin panel. Thanks to this streamlined approach, no extra kits or tools are required, and our solution ensures a safe and secure experience.<h3>Badges</h3>We’ve expanded opportunities for badge awards. Platform owners can now create intricate and dynamic badge structures, assign different badges to users, or transfer them via API. Users who receive badges are notified with a congratulatory message, while others can learn how to earn the same badges through additional alerts.<h3>New Marketing Widgets and Pop-ups</h3>In addition to marketing messages, we now offer marketing popups, powerful tools for promoting internal or external products and services. These pop-ups directly engage users, prompting them to take specific actions. They can be personalised, manually configured, or automated via API.<h3>New level of AI moderation</h3>We’ve integrated a new AI model into our moderation system, creating a trifecta of systems working together to provide the most secure environment possible. Additional tools include masking sensitive details like crypto wallets and phone numbers, expanded options for user bans of varying durations, and more.These are just the main tools—we continuously develop updates to ensure a highly efficient, convenient, and feature-rich chat experience. This allows platform owners to improve business metrics while giving end-users an engaging, trustworthy space to connect with like-minded individuals.<h2 id="new-clients">New Clients</h2>This year, we’ve established partnerships with companies from diverse regions. We now provide our services to platforms operating in Iceland, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, and Poland while continuing to strengthen our presence in other regions in which we have already worked.<h2 id="events-expos">Events, Expos, and Prizes</h2>We participated in numerous industry events and expos, competing with promising startups, pitching at ICE London and showcasing at Web Summit Lisbon.Here are the highlights of three key events.SIGMAWe pitched at two SIGMA World events and won both! Our first victory was in Brazil at SIGMA Americas, followed by another win in Hungary at SIGMA East Europe. Additionally, our CPO, Adel Gaisin, spoke on a panel at SIGMA Malta, sharing insights on how this winning spirit propels our growth.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1500/1000;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/36eb487c-e4b6-4ed1-8b97-0de400147e4c.jpeg" width="1500" height="1000"></figure>﻿﻿﻿South SummitAt South Summit in Madrid, we pitched in the Digital Culture section, connecting with leading experts and companies across various industries. Digital culture at its finest!SBCWe were nominated as a Rising Star in Service Provision at SBC, one of the largest and most impactful iGaming expos worldwide.<h2>Google for Startups Growth Academy</h2><figure class="image" style="margin-bottom:1vw;"><img style="aspect-ratio:2048/1365;" src="https://cdn.eu.watchers.io/bd644937-55f1-4bfd-bfdd-720e51ab5250.jpeg" width="2048" height="1365"></figure>We were selected for the Google Growth Academy alongside 14 other high-potential UK companies. The programme is designed for AI-powered startups, and we are proud to be one of them.We use AI for multilingual content moderation, real-time translation, semantic analysis, and actionable insights derived from community chats. With 90% of AI startups built on GCP, now we are one of them.<h2 id="main-numbers">Main Numbers</h2>6,544,472 unique users entered our chats30,728,928 messages sent*We look forward to an even more exciting 2025, with plans to expand further and continue helping content platforms worldwide build thriving communities. Our next event is ICE Barcelona—come visit our stand. See you there!</div>

Customisable live-streaming, more tools for security and user protection, and more languages available: see what we provided during our last releases in 2025.

Discover enhanced live streaming with customizable UI layouts, secure admin panel onboarding, expanded data export options, advanced AI moderation models, and new language localizations in Dutch and French. Elevate user safety, engagement, and access

Six times more: improvements we made last month

More сustom UI for<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/video-streaming"> live streaming in a chat</a>We added different options for placing a video player while streaming on a chat. You can change the setting anytime and choose the best flow for every stream provided. Thus, you can place comments in a chat as a layout on the video players or place them in a more classical way below the player.More secure flow for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/main-roles-in-chats">new users of the admin panel</a>All users on the admin panel must add their email addresses to protect their accounts. Also, when platforms want to invite new users to the admin panel, it is now possible only through email. When a user receives their invitation, they have to create a nickname and password, fill in several needed fields, and then start to use the admin panel. It provides not only a secure flow but also allows the tracking of all actions made by admins and moderators on the admin panel.More types of data exportAdmins can export data about the bans that were made and about participants in a poll. The first part is crucial for users protection and support, the second part helps platform owners to engage users with activities such as quizzes and competitions.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/moderation-management">More protected data</a>Users cannot send the number of their crypto wallets in a chat any more. Now, these numbers are masked as bank accounts and phone numbers.More AI moderation modelsWe added a new AI moderation model so all your messages can now be checked and verified by two AI models simultaneously—for the most trusted and secure space.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://docs.watchers.io/docs/languages-and-localisation">More languages&nbsp;</a>We’ve added localisation of the chat interface in Dutch and a pre-moderation system in Dutch and French.

We participate in three huge industrial events during November: Web Summit, SIGMA Europe Summit, and Google Startup Academy. 

Community chat and live streaming provider Watchers participate in Web Summit, SIGMA Europe Summit, and Google Academy this year. Book a meeting to discuss the integration or book a free trial

London, Lisbon, and Valetta: Where do you plan to meet Watchers this November?

How do you plan to spend the end of the autumn? We've decided to make it as fruitful as possible. Watchers' team will actively participate in three industrial events during the month and be happy to meet and network there.Google for Startups Growth Academy (London, UK, since the end of October)We've been selected for the program as one of the most promising AI startups to accelerate growth and impact the industry. We’re proud to be recognised for our trail-blazing efforts in using AI to continue bringing socialisation to the platforms and making users' communication engaging and safe. Most offline events will be held in London.Web Summit (Lisbon, Portugal, 11-14 November)We are participating in the Web Summit for the third time in a row. This time, we are showcasing as a beta startup. Our showcase will take place on 14 November on Stage 13. We be happy to see you there! If you plan to attend the expo, visit our booth on November 13 (B311). By the way, we have a special offer for Web Summit attendees—an opportunity to book a 3-month free trial. So, hurry up and connect with us if you want to integrate community chats with widgets on your app or website, and have tickets to Websummit.&nbsp;SIGMA Europe Summit (Valetta, Malta, 11-14 November)This time, we won't just attend the biggest SIGMA event of the year; our CPO, Adel Gaisin, will also participate in a speaking panel, "Startups Stories: Following up with SiGMA and AIBC Startup Pitch Winners", and share our experience as a startup that won SIGMA Pitch twice during the year. Feel free to join the panel on 14 November at 13:15.&nbsp;You can always contact us to book a meeting.***If you don't plan to be in Lisbon, London, or Valetta during November but would like to talk to us, discuss the functionality, or have a demo call, contact us via email or fill out the form.

AI moderation for images, changelog, and marvellous iGaming stickers: what we added to the product last month.

Watchers' integrated chats now include AI moderation capabilities for checking images sent by users. Users can communicate in a habitual and convenient way without unpleasant content. That increases engagement and revenue on all type of platforms

AI moderation for images, changelog, and marvellous iGaming stickers: what we added to the product last month

<h2>Features</h2><h3>Live streaming recording</h3>If you provide audio streams on your platform and your users share their screens with some visual materials, voice can be recorded and re-used to attract more users and even for your promotion on social media or other platforms to attract more people to use your service.<h3>AI moderation of images</h3>We provide users with the opportunity to send pictures and allow them to communicate in a completely trusted and healthy space with AI moderation tools. You can activate the AI moderation tool, which will block all inappropriate messages with images automatically. Alternatively, you can activate manual pre-moderation and check all messages before they get into the chat.However, manual moderation is available for both options: if you find the image AI allowed for sending inappropriate, you can hide it afterwards.<h3>Changelog</h3>We introduce changelog on our admin panel! Partners can subscribe to all updates through the admin panel and track platform updates and modifications via emails.<h2>Improvements</h2><h3>Text Input for Bet/Win Sharing&nbsp;</h3>Users can add some additional text while sharing their bets or winnings.<h3>Chat Disable Management&nbsp;</h3>Any partner can pause or turn off a chat on their side directly on the admin panel and add an announcement for users as to why the chat is unavailable and when it will be open again.<h3>Toggle for threads and automatic banning&nbsp;</h3>You can turn threads functionality on and off anytime, as well as the opportunity to ban users automatically based on other users’ claims. You can activate and deactivate these features at any moment.<h3>Several new languages</h3>We’ve added Korean and Japanese pre-moderation tools and localised the chat interface.<h3>Custom settings for stickers and a new exciting sticker set</h3>Partners can add as many sticker packs as they wish, activate several at a time, and assign an emoji to each sticker. When users type this emoji into a chat, the assigned sticker will be proposed for sending despite an emoji.<img src="https://watchersweb-prod.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/af2dd38c-5ca4-4ec8-8736-4465e5846733.png">We’ve also added a default sticker pack for iGaming, which a marvellous Brazilian illustrator created especially for us.