HeyGuys

What does HeyGuys mean?

HeyGuys is the default hello. Chat posts it when joining a stream, after a raid lands, or when the streamer comes back from a break. The smiling wave is a friendly check-in, not a joke — unless the room is extremely sarcastic.

It is one of the few globals whose first meaning is still the nice one. You can spam it as a raid greeting without looking like you are roasting anyone. Variants and jokes exist, but the stock use is just "hi."

Origin

The face is Selen Akay, former recruiting director at Twitch, who also streamed under the name HeyGuys. The emote was added to the global set in late 2014: a photo of her smiling and waving. She later talked publicly about being recognized from the emote more than from the job.

Because it is a real person waving, it reads instantly as a greeting even if you have never heard the name. VoHiYo is the pixel / anime-flavored hello; HeyGuys is the human one.

When to use HeyGuys

• When you enter chat and want a simple hello
• At the start of a stream or after the streamer was AFK
• To greet a raid, host, or new wave of viewers
• As a friendly ping before asking a question
• Ironically only if that channel already treats greetings as a bit

FAQ

What does HeyGuys mean in chat?

Hello. That is it. A wave as you join, or a welcome when people arrive.

Who is in the HeyGuys emote?

Selen Akay, a former Twitch recruiting director. The global uses her waving photo; the emote name matches her old stream name.

HeyGuys vs VoHiYo?

Both are hellos. HeyGuys is the photoreal wave. VoHiYo is the pixel girl with a wrench and often reads as anime / "weeb" coded. Use HeyGuys for a generic hi; VoHiYo when that is the channel's greeting culture.

Is HeyGuys a global Twitch emote?

Yes. Official global, available without third-party extensions.