Omegle App Review

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What is Omegle?

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Omegle was an online chat website that allows users to communicate with others without the need to register. The service randomly pairs users in one-on-one chat or video sessions. There’s an app that uses the yellow logo (which seems to be changing every week) and also a browser-based version of Omegle at www.omegle.com.

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How Does Omegle Work?

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Essentially, Omegle would pair you up with a random person in a roulette of video calls. From one stranger to the next. It was often mature content from others that would be randomly shown to whoever joined.

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It’s an app that literally just pairs you up with strangers. “Text” chats are exactly what they say. A conversation with a random individual.

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Finally, Omegle is officially shut down. Here's a quick news article about it, and the according lawsuit (contains slightly graphic images). Omegle caused so much harm. We are glad it's gone! However, Monkey, seems to be reviving this genre of random video chats. See our app review here.

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What Do Parents Need to Know About Omegle? 

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There’s tons of live nudity. The ability to be paired up with anyone, anywhere in the world should throw up tons of red flags for parents. Even the creators of Omegle warn that anyone under 18 using the app should be monitored by parents. The iPhone version of the app works like this:

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At Omegle.com through a browser, users are given the opportunity to participate in an “unmoderated video” chat, an “adult video” chat, a “monitored video” chat, or a “text” chat. A warning box appears if you click the “unmoderated” or “adult” links, making sure the user is at least 18 and is aware that sexual material is coming. And, beware, because it is absolutely true.

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Immediately upon joining one of the “unmoderated” or “adult” video chats, the user is confronted with live nudity from random webcams. Even in the “monitored” video chats, you will occasionally run into a simulated webcam where someone has inserted a still image of a naked woman, or there are guys who are disgustingly pleasuring themselves on a webcam just waiting to have a video chat.

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What often happens is someone will start a chat and offer their KiK username (or other social media sites) where the conversation continues with all of Kik’s features. We have tested this site through a browser, posing as different people of different ages, and the level of depravity is shocking. When there is anonymity, anything goes.

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Bottom Line: Was Omegle Safe for Kids?

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There’s absolutely nothing good about Omegle, which is why it was shut down.

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Parents should take extreme caution when deciding if their kids should use similar apps offering video chats with strangers, such as Monkey.

What if I have more questions? How can I stay up to date?

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Two actions you can take!

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1. If you have more questions: Order Chris's book (or audiobook)! Supported by science, built on deep experience, biblical truth, and proven by thousands of success stories, 5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family will help readers raise wise kids in a wild digital world.
2. Stay up to date: Subscribe to our tech trends newsletter, the PYE Download. Monthly, we’ll share what families need to know, what the PYE team is up to, and a message from Chris.

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