Yes, talking to strangers online by video is still very much a thing. Omegle shut down in 2023, but it was one platform, not the whole category. ChatRadar currently tracks 49 platforms built around the same basic idea: get matched with a stranger and start talking, no introductions required.
The Short Answer
| What you want | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Something closest to how Omegle felt | Free, no-signup platforms like Bazoocam or Joingy |
| Better moderation than Omegle had | CooMeet (93/100) or Camsurf (75/100), ChatRadar’s top two safety scores |
| The full post-Omegle landscape | the post-Omegle field |
What Happened to Omegle
Omegle shut down in November 2023 after its founder cited the platform’s cost and the burden of misuse, despite Omegle having pioneered the stranger-matching format years earlier. That left a gap that a long list of existing and new platforms filled, not a single replacement but dozens of them, each with different rules on cost, filtering, and moderation.
The category didn’t shrink after Omegle closed. If anything, it fragmented. ChatRadar’s grid alone tracks 49 platforms built around the same core idea Omegle popularized, and that’s before counting the platforms our Safety Index tracks that fall outside the 18+ comparison set. Some of those 49 platforms, like Chatroulette, actually predate Omegle by years, which is easy to forget given how strongly Omegle came to define the category in its later run.
Is It Still Free?
Mostly, yes. Of the 49 platforms in our data, 48 offer some kind of free access. 25 are fully free with no paid tier at all, which is close to how Omegle worked, no account, no cost, just a webcam and a click. The other 23 free-adjacent platforms run freemium or credits models, where the base chat is free but specific features, usually gender or country filtering, cost money.
Only one platform in our data, CooMeet, skips a free tier entirely and asks for a subscription before you start. That’s the exception, not the norm, in this category, and it’s worth knowing before you assume every platform works the same way Omegle did.
Is It Safer Than Omegle Was?
It can be, depending on which platform you pick. Omegle’s moderation became a widely cited problem in its final years. The platforms that replaced it range from AI-and-human moderated systems like CooMeet’s, scoring 93 in our testing, down to report-only moderation on platforms like Bazoocam and our Joingy review covers, both scoring 42.
That’s a wide range sitting under one category label. Picking a platform without checking its safety tier means you could land anywhere on that spectrum without realizing it, from moderation that’s a real step up from Omegle’s to moderation that’s arguably comparable to it. Full detail on how those scores are built, and where all 58 platforms we track land, is in ChatRadar’s Safety Index.
What Actually Changed Since Omegle
Filtering is more common now than it was on Omegle, which offered minimal built-in matching controls. Most current platforms let you filter by gender, country, or both, though it’s frequently a paid feature rather than something included by default. Verified-matching platforms, a category Omegle never really had, have also grown, with CooMeet as the clearest example in our data.
Signup requirements are more mixed than they used to be too. 34 of the 49 platforms we track still let you start with no account, similar to Omegle’s original no-friction model, but the remaining 15 now ask for signup, often in exchange for better matching or verification. Mobile-first design has also become more common, with platforms like Azar building specifically around phone use and swipe-based matching rather than treating mobile as an afterthought to a desktop product.
How to Choose
Decide what mattered most about Omegle to you specifically. If it was the zero-friction, no-signup simplicity, stick to the fully free, no-account platforms and check platforms with no cost at all. If it was the randomness but you want better moderation than Omegle had toward the end, look at platforms in Safety Tier A or B first and work down from there. Either way, check the safety tier before you commit time to any one platform, since the category’s range on that score is wider than most people expect, and the platform’s age or name recognition doesn’t necessarily tell you where it lands.
It also helps to separate the platforms that are trying to be the next Omegle from the ones that are trying to be something different. Bazoocam and Chatroulette both predate Omegle and share its bare-bones, no-account approach. CooMeet and Azar are aiming at a different problem entirely, verification and translation, that Omegle never addressed. Neither direction is wrong, but they’re not interchangeable, and comparing them on the same terms tends to undersell whichever one you didn’t pick.
Common Questions
Is Omegle still around?
No. Omegle shut down in November 2023 and has not relaunched. There’s no official successor operated by the same team.
What replaced Omegle?
No single platform replaced it. A wide field of existing and newer platforms absorbed its traffic, covered in the post-Omegle field and our full ranking of all 49 platforms.
Can you still talk to strangers online for free?
Yes. 25 of the 49 platforms ChatRadar tracks are fully free with no paid tier, and most of the rest offer at least some free access before any paywall kicks in.
Do you need to give personal information to talk to strangers online?
It depends on the platform. 34 of the 49 platforms in our data let you start chatting without creating an account at all. The rest require at minimum an email address to sign up before you can access chat.
Is talking to strangers online safe?
Safety varies significantly by platform, based on moderation type, age verification, and matching controls. Scores in our data range from 93 down to 28. Check the specific platform’s safety tier before assuming any two platforms are comparable.
What’s the minimum age to use these platforms?
18, across every platform in ChatRadar’s 18+ comparison grid. Platforms that allow under-18 users are excluded from this grid and appear only in our Safety Index.
Is this the same as a dating app?
Not exactly. Random video chat connects you instantly with a stranger with no profile review beforehand, while dating apps typically involve browsing and mutual matching before contact starts. A few platforms blend elements of both, but the core connection method still differs.
Are there still no-signup options like Omegle had?
Yes. 34 of the 49 platforms in our data let you start chatting without creating an account, which is close to how Omegle worked. Platforms like Bazoocam and Chatroulette keep that same no-friction approach, though moderation and filtering vary a lot between them.
Why did people keep using Omegle even after its moderation problems became well known?
Familiarity and zero friction were most of it. There was no account to set up and nothing to learn, so switching to something else took more effort than sticking with what was already working, even as complaints about moderation grew. That same dynamic now plays out across whichever platform ends up filling that role for a given user.