Thought that Omegle was old news?  With its rudimentary and dated interface, it might look out of place today, but in fact it’s firmly back in fashion.  That’s partly because of a pandemic that left children feeling more isolated and spending more time online, but mainly because of TikTok creators directing their followers to Omegle chat.  

As a result, the platform is more popular than ever, and it’s now used by more than 65 million people every month. Is Omegle safe?  Let’s investigate…

What Is Omegle?

The platform was launched in 2009 as a simple text chat service, with video chat added in 2010.  Without having to create a profile or login, or verify credentials, users can initiate a chat session with a randomly selected stranger.  

Critics might point out that soliciting contact with strangers and its tagline, “Talk to Strangers,” goes against the advice that any Parent would give their child, and that the platform allegedly offers a safe space for predators.

College Student Chat Feature

Users can select chats by interest area if desired, but for college students Omegle offers the possibility of connecting with others enrolled in the same university.  All students have to do is enter their student email address to identify themselves to strangers. 

A Safe Place for Kids?  What Omegle Says

“The internet is full of cool people,” claims Omegle.  “Omegle lets you meet them.” According to the platform’s terms of use, users must be 18 or over to use Omegle, or 13-plus with parental supervision.  However, there is no mechanism in place to verify either. Furthermore, under the terms of service that users agree to, Omegle has no obligation to monitor chats.

Prohibited Under Omegle’s Community Guidelines

• Hateful conduct and harassment, nudity, pornography or sexually explicit content on moderated sections. 
• Any content that exploits or endangers minors, which will be reported to law enforcement. 
• Unauthorized sharing of personal information, impersonation or providing false information. 

Although the platform is technically anonymous if using the text chat feature, users can receive a shareable link to a saved chat that identifies the participants’ IP addresses and ID cookies. 

What Parents Are Saying

Any responsible parent will teach their children to be wary of appearances and raise the alarm if something doesn’t feel right. The site’s own terms advise to “Use Omegle at your own peril.”  

According to parents, the danger is that children are curious and unlikely to be supervised at all times, especially online.  By taking a hands-off approach to verification, Omegle potentially provides a platform for unidentified adults to groom minors, blackmail them with screen recordings and expose them to sexual activity.  The bans that Omegle claims to impose are for IP addresses only, so are easy to circumvent with a VPN. 

Parents aren’t the only ones that maintain the risk that Omegle poses to an increasing number of minors is cause for concern.  The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations even addressed the site’s founder on March 30, 2021, to highlight the alleged role of Omegle in “facilitating self-generated and live video streamed sexual activities and material online that depicts or otherwise represents children appearing to engage in sexually explicit conduct.”

What Can You Do?

As an anonymous chat platform for strangers, Omegle is set up to bypass the controls and blocks that parents can normally rely on.  One option is to block the site on a home internet network or set up parental controls, but these are usually easy to get around for anyone determined enough.  

Parents who are concerned about a stranger whom their child has connected with can dig deeper with Spokeo if they are able to obtain a phone number, a user’s name or email address.  These may lead to law enforcement resources that reveal whether the person in question has a criminal record or is on any sex offender registry. 

References:

• Omegle – Omegle: Talk to strangers!
• Parents – Is Omegle Safe for Kids? 7 Huge Red Flags for Parents
• Comparitech – Is Omegle Safe? How To Protect Children on Omegle in 2021
• New York Times – Omegle Is Where People Meet Online Now
• eSafety Commissioner – Omegle
• Special Rapporteur, United Nations – Address to Mr. Leif K-Brooks