Sparks
Sparks are free points you earn on a channel by watching it. Each channel has its own Sparks: what you earn watching one streamer is spent in that streamer’s chat. You need to be signed in to earn them.
Earning Sparks
Section titled “Earning Sparks”Sign in and watch a live stream. Sparks tick into your balance a little at a time as you watch, and you can spend them as soon as they land.
How fast you earn depends on how you’re watching:
- Stream playing in a visible tab with sound on earns at the full rate.
- Muted, or in a background tab, earns less.
- Paused earns nothing.
Subscribers earn faster on the channel they subscribe to, and higher subscription tiers earn faster still.
Watch streaks
Section titled “Watch streaks”Watch the same channel on consecutive days to build a watch streak. Your first day is the starting point; from the second day on, each day you come back raises how fast you earn Sparks on that channel, up to a cap. Days are counted in UTC.
Missing a day doesn’t break it:
- Skip one day and your streak is kept as it is.
- Skip more than one day and the streak drops by one for each extra day you missed. It goes down gradually instead of resetting to zero.
Check your balance
Section titled “Check your balance”Your balance is the Sparks pill in the chat header. Click it to see your total, your streak (for example, 5-day watch streak — earning 1.12×) and how many Sparks you’ve earned and spent on that channel.
Bonus drops
Section titled “Bonus drops”While a channel is live, bonus drops appear in chat every so often. A drop shows its headline, how many Sparks it’s worth and a countdown.
- When a drop appears above the chat, select Claim before the countdown runs out.
- The card turns green and shows Claimed +… Sparks. The Sparks are added to your balance right away.
Each viewer can claim each drop once. Drops pay a flat amount: your streak and subscription don’t change it.
A drop’s headline sets the moment: Bonus drop!, Raid drop!, Milestone drop!, Hype drop! or Clutch drop!
Raid bonus
Section titled “Raid bonus”When a streamer raids another channel and you follow the raid, you get a Sparks bonus on the channel you land on. It’s added automatically when you arrive, and a message tells you how many Sparks you got.
Spending Sparks
Section titled “Spending Sparks”Streamers decide what costs Sparks in their chat. Anything priced in Sparks shows the Sparks icon and a number:
- Stickers: open the sticker panel in the chat box. Paid channel stickers cost Embers or Sparks.
- GIFs: when a channel charges for GIFs, every GIF in the panel shows the price.
- Flairs: open the flair panel. Each flair shows whether it’s free or what it costs.
Before a paid sticker or GIF is sent, BEAM asks you to confirm (Send paid sticker or Send paid GIF) and shows which currency you’ll be charged in. Sparks only work on the channel you earned them on.
For streamers
Section titled “For streamers”Your viewers earn Sparks on your channel automatically. There’s nothing to turn on.
- Bonus drops run on their own while you’re live. There’s no setting for them.
- Raids: viewers who follow a raid into your channel get a raid bonus in your channel’s Sparks, and viewers you send to someone else get one in theirs.
- Pricing stickers in Sparks: in Studio → Customization, under Custom Stickers, set a sticker’s Price to Sparks, Embers or Free.
- Pricing GIFs in Sparks: in Chat Rules, select Edit chat rules and set the GIF Price. Moderators post GIFs free, and you can let subscribers post free too.
In your own chat, you send your channel’s stickers for free.
Sparks aren’t money. When viewers spend Sparks in your chat, nothing is added to your earnings; to earn from tips and stickers, price them in Embers.
Can I buy Sparks?
Section titled “Can I buy Sparks?”No. Sparks are only earned: by watching, from bonus drops and from raid bonuses.
Why don’t I have any Sparks on a channel I just found?
Section titled “Why don’t I have any Sparks on a channel I just found?”Sparks are earned per channel. Keep watching that channel while signed in and your first Sparks will arrive.
Can I move Sparks from one channel to another?
Section titled “Can I move Sparks from one channel to another?”No. Sparks you earn on a channel can only be spent in that channel’s chat.
My drop said “Claim” but I didn’t get anything.
Section titled “My drop said “Claim” but I didn’t get anything.”Each drop can be claimed once per viewer and only until its countdown ends. If you tried after the window closed, or you’d already claimed it, there’s nothing more to add.
Do I lose my streak if I miss a day?
Section titled “Do I lose my streak if I miss a day?”No. One missed day is forgiven. Missing more days lowers your streak a step at a time; it doesn’t reset it.