How can we help?

First-time setup

• Enable YouTube Live on your channel

  Go to youtube.com/features in a browser and turn on Live Streaming. YouTube can take up to 24 hours to approve a new channel for live, and may require phone verification.

• Sign in with the right Google account

  BenchStream uses Google sign-in with the YouTube permission needed to read and manage your live broadcasts. If you stream on a YouTube brand account (a separate channel from your personal one), choose that account at the sign-in prompt — not your personal Google account.

• Grant camera and microphone permission

  On first launch BenchStream asks for camera and microphone access. If you skipped these, enable them in Settings → BenchStream (iOS) or Settings → Apps → BenchStream → Permissions (Android).

Common fixes

• Stream won't start

  Confirm Live Streaming is enabled at youtube.com/features. Make sure BenchStream has camera and microphone permission. Try switching between Wi-Fi and cellular — rink and arena Wi-Fi is often the cause.

• Stream keeps disconnecting

  On Android, disable battery optimisation for BenchStream: Settings → Apps → BenchStream → Battery → Unrestricted. On iOS, keep the screen on and the app in the foreground; if you must switch apps, BenchStream's audio will continue but extended backgrounding can drop the connection. Try 4G/5G if Wi-Fi is shaky.

• Audio sounds wrong

  Run mic calibration before your stream. Tap Calibrate to this room in mic settings. In a loud arena, start with the level lower than you think — you can always increase it. If you are using a Bluetooth or USB microphone, select it explicitly in the mic settings panel before going live.

• "The destination rejected this stream key"

  For YouTube, prefer a scheduled broadcast rather than a manual key — BenchStream picks up the right key automatically. For a manual destination, double-check the RTMP/SRT URL and stream key match what your provider gave you, exactly. Keys are case-sensitive.

• YouTube shows "Stream not live yet"

  That message comes from YouTube. It means YouTube is receiving your stream but the broadcast has not yet been transitioned to live. BenchStream handles the transition automatically once ingest is stable; give it a few seconds.

• Phone gets hot

  Live encoding is intensive. Keep the phone out of direct sun, give it airflow if you have a mount, plug it into external power if you have a long game, and consider turning the screen off (audio and the broadcast continue).

Account and data

• Sign out

  In the app, go to Settings → Account → Sign out. This clears your Google tokens from the device.

• Delete your data

  Go to Settings → Account → Delete data. To fully revoke BenchStream's access to your YouTube account, also visit myaccount.google.com/permissions and remove BenchStream. Uninstalling the app removes anything that remains.

  BenchStream does not run a product database or central BenchStream account. App settings and credentials live on your device. Broadcasts created on YouTube remain in your YouTube account until you remove them in YouTube Studio.

• Data protection requests

  For access, rectification, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or automated-decision requests under UK or EU data-protection law, email [email protected]. We aim to reply within one month.

  We retain support correspondence and attachments for up to 12 months after a request is resolved, unless we need to keep them longer for security, legal, accounting, or dispute-resolution reasons.

Reporting a concern

BenchStream is a streaming client — we do not host or moderate streams. If you have a concern about content broadcast through YouTube, please use YouTube's reporting flow, which is where moderation decisions are made.

For concerns about BenchStream itself — misuse, safety, abuse, or anything that needs our attention — email [email protected].

Contact

Found a bug? Have a feature request? Need help with something that isn't covered above? Send us an email. Please include your phone model, the OS version, the BenchStream version (Settings → About), and a short description of what happened — it makes the back-and-forth much faster.

Please do not send stream keys, passwords, or unnecessary screenshots of other people's personal data. If we need logs or screenshots to diagnose a problem, we will use them only for support, security, legal, or service-maintenance purposes.