← Dual IRL Bro

What's new

The running list of user-facing changes to the Dual IRL Bro companion app. Newest first.

2026-08-10

  • Added Twitch chat badges now render as real per-channel images (subscriber tiers, VIP, moderator, etc.) instead of plain text chips, in chat.html and both apps' chat overlays; stats.html/viewer-count.html's Twitch tile no longer depends on the third-party DecAPI proxy. (0.1.392)
  • Added YouTube Super Chat and Super Sticker messages now render as a visible event line in merged chat, instead of being silently dropped. (0.1.392)
  • Added the Rumble monitoring tile now shows likes/dislikes and followers/subscribers when available, and the empty-state hint mentions Rumble. (0.1.392)

2026-08-09

  • Fixed Bro now shows ONE ongoing notification (not two) when background chat monitoring and an audio web source are both active, with its text reflecting whichever is actually running. (0.1.389)
  • Fixed Bro's landscape header now splits at the video/chat divider: the Videos/Alerts/TTS toggles stay above the video tiles on the left (scrolling sideways if they overflow), and the chat tabs move up to share that same row on the right (scrolling independently), closing the dead gap that used to sit above the chat tabs. (0.1.387)
  • Fixed a monitored YouTube video tile that returns an error page (deleted/private video, region-blocked embed) now shows "tap to retry" instead of getting stuck silently. (0.1.387)
  • Fixed a single monitored video in Bro's portrait grid (when the layout has room for more columns than there are videos) now fills the available width instead of being squeezed to half (or less) width next to blank space. (0.1.387)

2026-08-08

  • Added the Kick "Sidekick" community-helper role badge now shows its real icon in chat instead of a plain text pill. (0.1.382)

2026-08-07

  • Added a real "hide emojis" option (Bro, Stream, and the chat.html widget) that strips literal emoji characters out of a message's text, not just messages that are emoji-only — the existing "hide emoji-only messages" behavior stays as-is for a fully-emoji line. (0.1.381)
  • Fixed Kick chat subscriber badges now show the streamer's own custom subscriber-badge art (when the channel has one) instead of the generic bundled icon. (0.1.381)

2026-08-06

  • Added both apps' chat settings now have independent "skip reading emojis" (TTS) and "hide emoji-only messages" (display) toggles, distinct from the existing emote toggles, for literal Unicode emoji characters in chat. (0.1.380)
  • Changed the audio web source host now waits for the network to settle for 3s before reloading hosted sources on a network change, instead of reloading on every transition during a flap. (0.1.380)
  • Changed Bro's chat tab row hides the redundant "All" tab when only one channel is monitored. (0.1.380)
  • Changed the read-aloud settings' sub-options are now ordered announce-sender, then the skip toggles, then voice selection, in both apps. (0.1.379)
  • Changed several settings that used to default off now default on in both apps (auto-update-check, chat badges, skip-reading-commands aloud, 7TV/BTTV third-party emotes) or in Stream specifically (the chat entrance-cascade animation, Kick/Rumble/YouTube uptime badges, Rumble sentiment, Rumble/YouTube chat inclusion, Twitch viewer-count/uptime badges) or in Bro specifically (battery stats, chat timestamps) — you can still turn any of them off in Settings. (0.1.379)
  • Added the battery-stats readout in both apps now shows a battery emoji next to the percentage (replacing Stream's old "BAT" text label). (0.1.379)

2026-08-05

  • Added a settings toggle for the chat entrance-cascade animation (new messages slide in from the side + fade in) in both apps; Bro's toggle is on by default (matching the animation it already ships in this same release, see the entry below), Stream gets the same animation and toggle for the first time, off by default. (0.1.376)
  • Fixed a large streamer's 7TV custom emotes could silently fail to load and render as plain text instead of images, because the app's own response-size safety cap was too small for a big channel's full emote catalog; raised. (0.1.376)
  • Fixed a Kick, Twitch, Rumble, or YouTube chat message could occasionally get stuck at the bottom of the chat panel forever, with newer messages appearing above it but the view never catching up; now it lands wherever it actually arrived. (0.1.376)
  • Added Bro can now show battery/thermal stats (charge %, plug icon, watt draw, temperature) in the top bar next to the settings cog — turn on "Show battery stats" in Settings (off by default). (0.1.376)
  • Added the "keep alive" notification for background chat monitoring and the audio web-source player now includes an Exit action to close the app directly from the notification shade. (0.1.376)
  • Added Bro's video tile username labels now show the platform's brand logo (Kick/Twitch/YouTube/Rumble), matching the chat tabs. (0.1.376)
  • Changed Bro's chat tabs are now ordered Events, All, then individual channels (previously All, Events, channels). (0.1.376)
  • Added Bro's Events tab now has a filter button to show/hide specific event types (subs, gifts, raids, etc.). (0.1.376)
  • Changed Bro's chat now plays a cascading animation for new messages: existing rows shift up smoothly and a new arrival slides in from the side and fades in, instead of instantly snapping. (0.1.376)

2026-08-04

  • Fixed Kick's default subscriber chat badge now renders with its real Kick artwork instead of a generic colored letter. (0.1.373)
  • Fixed Kick chat badges (moderator, VIP, OG, Founder, verified, sub-gifter, bot) now render with their real Kick artwork instead of a generic colored letter. (0.1.373)
  • Fixed Twitch chat badges (subscriber, moderator, VIP, and other role/event badges) now show up before a chatter's name, matching Kick. (0.1.373)

2026-08-03

  • Fixed Rumble chat (both apps) now shows a clear message when it can't connect (e.g. a wrong or expired API URL), instead of showing "Connecting…"/"Reconnecting" forever. (0.1.371)
  • Fixed Bro now pauses per-channel Kick/Twitch/Rumble live-status polling while Videos is off, saving battery and data (chat, including YouTube, keeps working normally). (0.1.369)

2026-08-02

  • Added Bro's chat panel can now show each chatter's badges (level, subscriber, VIP, moderator, etc.) before their name, matching Stream; the "Show chat badges" setting also moved to the main chat display section in both apps (previously Kick-only in Stream) so it's easy to find and ready to cover more platforms later. (0.1.368)
  • Added a "Get more voices/accents" link in the read-aloud voice picker opens your device's text-to-speech voice-data installer, so accent packs your engine offers are easier to find. (0.1.366)
  • Added Bro now keeps your channels' chat/events connected (and read-aloud speaking) while you switch apps, so you don't miss what happened while you were away; a "Keep chat updating in the background" toggle in Settings controls it (default on) and shows an ongoing notification while active. (0.1.365)
  • Added In landscape, Bro now groups your monitored-stream tiles into a compact block on the left (sized to how many you're watching) instead of stretching them across the full screen width, leaving more room for chat. (0.1.365)
  • Added Bro's YouTube tiles now show live viewer count and uptime (when a YouTube API key is configured), matching Kick and Twitch tiles. (0.1.364)
  • Added Bro's Twitch tiles now show live viewer count and uptime, matching Kick tiles. (0.1.364)

2026-07-31

  • Added Bro's Rumble chat now shows Rants (paid messages) and gifted subs as event lines, matching how Kick cheers/gifts already render. (0.1.357)
  • Fixed Rumble chat tab and tile now show the real channel name once the status poll resolves it, instead of the generic "Rumble" label. (0.1.356)

2026-07-30

  • Added Bro can now import your monitored channels, Rumble/YouTube keys, and chat/read-aloud settings from a Stream app backup file (Settings → Import from Stream). (0.1.354)
  • Fixed Kick events (gifts, subs, redemptions, raids) in chat now show a timestamp, matching Twitch events, in both the merged chat and the Events tab. (0.1.354)

2026-07-29

  • Fixed chat read-aloud: a burst of messages from different senders (with "Random voice per sender" on) now each play in their own voice, instead of the whole burst playing in whichever voice was applied last. (0.1.353)
  • Added Bro's 7TV/BetterTTV third-party emotes now also work on YouTube chat (global and per-channel) and Rumble chat (global). (0.1.353)
  • Changed Chat settings: display toggles (emotes, bots, commands, timestamps) are now grouped together above the read-aloud options, and the read-aloud sub-option order now matches Stream. (0.1.353)
  • Added Bro can now show chat emotes as plain text names instead of pictures — turn off "Show emotes as images" in Settings. (0.1.353)

2026-07-28

  • Added Kick and Twitch chat can now show third-party 7TV and BetterTTV emotes, off by default — turn on "Enable 7TV/BTTV emotes" in Channel settings. Once on, they render as images (or hide, or skip when read aloud) exactly like Kick/Twitch's own emotes, using the same toggles. (0.1.350)

2026-07-27

  • Fixed On Bro's monitor screen, the Videos/Alerts/TTS buttons' "on" and "off" states were hard to tell apart in the dark theme; the "on" fill color now has clear contrast against "off". (0.1.349)
  • Changed Bro's "App updates" screen now looks and behaves like Stream's: a "Check for updates" button, a status line, and a new "Check automatically on launch" toggle that can prompt you with an update-available dialog on startup. Bro still never downloads or installs anything itself — "Open download page" hands off to your browser, same as before. (0.1.349)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro can now read YouTube live chat for your monitored channels (needs your own free YouTube Data API key, entered once in Channel settings — one key covers every YouTube channel you monitor). (0.1.348)
  • Added The Videos and Alerts buttons on Bro's monitor screen now imply their on/off state through fill color instead of spelling "on"/"off" in the label, freeing up room for a new TTS button that quickly toggles chat read-aloud on/off. Long-pressing Alerts opens a quick menu to toggle your audio sources individually; long-pressing TTS opens the same read-aloud options as Settings. (0.1.348)
  • Added You can now pick which text-to-speech voice reads your chat aloud, from a list of your device's voices with a preview of each. A "random voice per sender" option makes different chatters read in different (but consistent) voices, so a busy chat sounds like a room of people instead of one narrator — the same chatter always gets the same voice. (0.1.348)
  • Added New chat options: hide messages that start with ! (like !watchtime or !drop), and separately, skip reading them aloud. Both default off. (0.1.348)
  • Added Bro's chat panel now has an Events tab that collects subs, gifts, raids/hosts, and redemptions from all your monitored channels in one place, so they're not easy to miss scrolling past in the main chat. (0.1.348)

2026-07-26

  • Added Kick, Twitch and custom-URL streams now show a small audio level bar whenever they're making sound, so you can see at a glance that a tile's audio is still flowing without unmuting it. Tiles stay muted as always. YouTube tiles play through YouTube's own embed and Rumble tiles are status-only, so neither shows a bar. (0.1.343)

2026-07-25

  • Fixed when a chat channel keeps closing the connection on us almost immediately — in under two seconds, over and over — the app now waits progressively longer between retries instead of retrying every two seconds forever, while a channel that keeps working — including a quiet one with no chat coming in — still reconnects promptly. (0.1.342)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro now tells you when a newer build is published. Settings → App updates checks the version posted on the download page and says whether you're current, then opens the page in your browser so you can grab it. Bro still never downloads or installs anything itself — that's the part Play Protect objected to, and it's staying out. (0.1.341)
  • Fixed three YouTube monitoring problems, found while YouTube was being brought back: channels with non-English names can be added again; an offline channel is no longer sometimes shown as live (it could pick up a live video recommended on that channel's page and play that instead); and watching a live channel now uses far less mobile data. (0.1.340)
  • Removed Dual IRL Bro no longer updates itself, and that is the fix for the Google Play Protect warning on the Bro download. Testing nine builds one feature at a time showed the warning followed exactly one thing: an app that can download and install an app is the shape Play Protect treats as dangerous on a new package it has never seen. So Bro no longer asks for permission to install anything. Getting new builds is unchanged — they're posted on the download page and each installs straight over your current copy, keeping your channels and settings. (0.1.340)
  • Added YouTube monitoring is back. It was switched off in 0.1.335 as a deliberate step in tracking down why Google Play Protect had started flagging the Bro download: with no way to ask Google what tripped it, we built nine test versions and removed one feature at a time until the warning cleared. That identified the culprit — the in-app updater, removed in 0.1.340 — and cleared YouTube completely. Most channels you were monitoring come back on their own when you update. One case needs a hand: a channel you added while it was OFFLINE may have been dropped from your list, so add it again if it's missing. (0.1.339)
  • Removed Dual IRL Bro no longer supports monitoring YouTube channels. This is temporary, while we investigate a Google Play Protect warning on the Bro download; Kick, Twitch, Rumble and custom stream URLs are unaffected. (0.1.335)

2026-07-24

  • Changed Dual IRL Bro's settings are reorganized into a landing with grouped sub-screens (Channel settings, Audio sources, App updates, About), matching the Stream app's layout. (0.1.316)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro chat now has the same global options as Stream: hide emotes, hide bot messages, and read chat aloud (with skip-bots, skip-emotes, and announce-sender). (0.1.316)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro now shows your Rumble channel's live chat: with your Rumble Live Stream API URL set, Rumble chat appears in its own tab and the merged "All" view alongside Kick, Twitch, and YouTube. (0.1.311)

2026-07-23

  • Added Dual IRL Bro can now monitor your Rumble channel: paste your Rumble Live Stream API URL (from rumble.com/account/livestream-api) and Bro shows its live status — live/offline, viewers, and uptime. (Rumble chat and video come in follow-ups.) (0.1.310)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro now shows a "What's New" dialog after an update and has a changelog link in Settings, matching the main app. (0.1.298)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro is now publicly downloadable from its own page at dualirl.com/bro. (0.1.297)
  • Changed Dual IRL Bro has a new app icon — a monitor showing your streams (one live) with a chat strip — and debug builds now use a distinct amber icon labelled "Bro Debug", so a test build and the real app are easy to tell apart. (0.1.295)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro can now update itself: check for a new version in Settings and install it in place, or turn on automatic checks on launch — the same one-tap, cert-verified update flow the main app uses. (0.1.293)
  • Fixed Dual IRL Bro chat now shows platform alerts (subscriptions, gifts, raids, redemptions, Kicks) as a single accent line matching the main app — previously the sender's name was shown twice (e.g. "🎁 bob bob redeemed …"). (0.1.292)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro now keeps the screen on while it's open, so the display doesn't sleep on the usual idle timeout while you're watching your monitored streams. (0.1.292)
  • Changed Dual IRL Bro chat now shows each platform's brand logo (Kick / Twitch / YouTube) on the channel tabs and at the start of every message, instead of a letter — matching the main app. (0.1.290)
  • Fixed In Dual IRL Bro, the device back button now returns to the previous screen (e.g. Settings → the monitor grid) instead of closing the app. (0.1.289)
  • Changed Dual IRL Bro chat lines now lead with the platform glyph (which platform the message came from), then the optional timestamp, then the username — so a line's source reads first. (0.1.289)
  • Fixed In Dual IRL Bro, the live indicator dot on a monitored channel's info chip is now red (was the same color as the chip text). (0.1.289)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro chat now shows a platform glyph (Kick/Twitch) on each line and can show message timestamps (toggle in settings), animated emotes now animate, and the top of the screen is tightened up. The Videos/Alerts buttons now read consistently (filled = on). (0.1.287)

2026-07-22

  • Added Dual IRL Bro now loads recent chat history the moment you open it (Kick), so the chat panel isn't blank while you wait for new messages — just like the main app. You can pick a chat text size (Small / Medium / Large / Extra large), and a new About screen shows the app version. (0.1.286)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro can now monitor a YouTube channel: type the channel's handle and its live stream plays in the grid through the official YouTube player. Like Kick, you can add a channel before it's live and it starts on its own when the channel goes live. (0.1.285)
  • Fixed Dual IRL Bro now lets you add a Twitch channel that isn't live yet (so you can set up your channels before going live — it monitors chat right away and starts playing when the channel goes live), the same as Kick; only a channel name that doesn't exist is rejected. The video tiles no longer show a close (X) button — remove a channel from the settings screen instead. (0.1.284)
  • Changed Dual IRL Bro now shows a clear "Offline" for a monitored channel that isn't live (instead of a stuck "can't play" spinner) and starts playing again on its own when the channel returns. You can also add a Kick channel that isn't live yet — it monitors the chat right away and begins playing automatically when the channel goes live. (0.1.283)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro chat now shows inline emote images from Kick and Twitch channels, and a per-channel tab bar lets you switch between all monitored channels' chat and a single channel. The chat panel also grows to fill the space the videos don't use (small side-by-side tiles no longer reserve half the screen), and the title/controls no longer sit under the status bar. (0.1.282)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro now shows merged live chat from your monitored Kick and Twitch channels beneath the video grid, and can monitor a Twitch channel by name (video + chat), not just Kick. A new settings screen (behind the cog) manages your channels and audio sources, and a top toggle bar switches to chat-only (videos off) or mutes your local alert audio. (0.1.281)
  • Added Monitor a Kick channel by name in Dual IRL Bro: type the channel and it plays the live stream with a live viewer count and uptime that refresh automatically (and shows when the channel goes offline). You can still paste a custom stream URL. (0.1.280)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro can now play audio-only web sources (alert / TTS pages) locally while you monitor — a separate live audio lane alongside the always-muted video tiles, kept playing in the background by a foreground service. (0.1.280)
  • Added Dual IRL Bro is now a downloadable, installable app — every build is versioned and signed, and updates in place across builds. (0.1.279)
  • Added Monitor several of your live streams side by side in a grid — add each stream's URL and Bro plays them together. Tiles are always muted (monitoring your own stream with audio would cause a feedback loop) and pause automatically when the app is in the background. (0.1.277)
  • Added Introducing Dual IRL Bro, a free companion app for monitoring your live stream — this first build is the app shell; the monitoring features land next. (0.1.276)