There are many chat or video call tools that we use on a daily basis, but some are somewhat different in form and content. This is the case of Omegle, a free chat and video website that allows us to meet people and talk to them. There are many apps or websites that allow us to meet other people (such as Tinder and many other dating tools) but Omegle is different because it is anonymous and much less harmless than other similar websites or apps.
Omegle is a fashionable platform or tool, although it has been operating for more than ten years, created by Leif K-Brooks, an 18-year-old from Vermont (United States) when he was in his last year of high school. A dangerous social network that has become popular among minors and that hardly has filters or privacy and security options, but there are millions of users who access it through its website.
What is Omegle to chat
Omegle is a website or platform launched in 2009 that seeks to be an online space where any user can chat with another unknown person with whom they share interests. The idea is to meet new people who have the same tastes as you and with whom we can talk about our interests.
We can access anonymously and its main page defines the platform as “a way to meet new friends, even if social distancing is practiced”. We are automatically matched with another person to talk to but also, they explain, “you can add your interests and you will be randomly matched with someone who has one of these interests.” In other words, you can say what you like and Omegle automatically assigns you a person with the same tastes so that you can talk to a stranger who supposedly has the same interests as you.
The site became a hit from its launch, getting over 150,000 page views per day in the first month. But, in addition, since 2010 it is available not only through voice conversations or as a messaging chat tool, but now the same operation is also applied through video calls with which we contact another random stranger.
For what and for whom is the web
Using a platform to talk to strangers is not recommended and quite dangerous in most cases, so they make the rules clear: you must be over 18 years old or you must be over 13 years old if you have adult permission or parental permission To access. Do they check our age? No. The page does not require registration, so we do not have to confirm our age at any time, nor do they ensure that we are of legal age or have parental permission to be able to connect. We mark this check in the pop-up window and we can access.
What is it for? As we have said before, it is a tool that allows us to chat with unknown people through a web page. We don’t get to choose who we talk to and we don’t need any apps so it’s not like Zoom or Skype or any similar app.
How is it used
To use Omegle you do not have to identify yourself. We can access without saying our names, without giving any data. We can do it from the web page through any device with a browser: from the mobile phone, from the computer, from the tablet… We simply access the corresponding page and at the bottom we will see two options “text” and “video” that we can choose to start chatting. It also allows us to choose between several language options if we want to find people who speak our same language on the web.
In addition, at the bottom we can also see a box that allows us to optionally add interests or likes if we want to further refine the meeting.
When we have filled all, the chat begins. You will have to accept some terms and conditions that ensure that it can only be used if you are over the age of thirteen and that people between the ages of thirteen and eighteen must have the supervision of a legal guardian. Once you check the boxes (there is no age verification beyond checking this box) the text or video chat begins.
You access a chat window or a video call with a person you know nothing about. It’s international, users can be from all over the world, and anonymous because you don’t have to say who you are. There is no username in the participants, not even a pseudonym. We also do not have to say age or gender or anything similar but simply press the button and start talking.
Risks and controversies related to the platform
There are many controversies in which Omegle has been the protagonist since its launch and especially in recent years. It is not safe to use a platform so you have absolutely no control over privacy, over the content that is shared. Before starting the conversation they will tell you that the contents are monitored so they ask you to be careful. But there are many controversies that it has starred in and investigations that warn about its use.
Since the existence of video calls on Omegle, the problems that have made people under 18 years of age are at risk on this website for content that is considered “harmful” and all kinds of behavior related to nudity or sexual content have multiplied. As reported by the BBC in February 2021, an investigation by this medium spoke about the risks of pre-adolescent children who were naked before adults through this video chat and text chat platform.
