Frequently asked questions

Yes. Chatingly is a free random video chat. There's no subscription, no paid tier and nothing to unlock.

No. There's no account, no registration and no app. Open chatingly.com in your browser, allow your camera and microphone, and you're matched with a stranger for a live video call.

A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone, and a recent version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge. That's all.

Yes. Chatingly works in mobile browsers on iPhone and Android. Chat and games open as a bottom sheet so your match's video is never covered.

If your browser blocked the camera earlier, Chatingly shows step-by-step instructions for your browser to unblock it. Also close other apps that might be using the camera (Zoom, Teams, Discord, OBS or another tab), and check your system's privacy settings allow your browser to use the camera.

When you press Start, you join the queue of people looking for a chat and get paired one-on-one with someone new, usually within seconds. Press Next (or Esc on a keyboard) any time to meet someone else.

Add up to eight interests in the lobby, like music, gaming or travel. We look for someone who shares at least one. If nobody does within a few seconds, you're matched with anyone online so you're never left waiting. Shared interests are shown next to your match's name.

No. There's no country filter. Chatingly connects you with people from all over the world, including the USA, the UK and India. If you want to talk to someone from a particular place, ask where they're calling from and hit Next if it's not who you're looking for.

No. There's no gender filter; matching is random across everyone online. Interests are the only thing that shapes who you meet.

Not on purpose. There are no profiles or friend lists. Chatingly also avoids matching you with your last few partners straight away, so pressing Next really gets you someone new.

If a video connection can't be set up, takes too long, or drops and doesn't recover, Chatingly moves you to a new match automatically instead of leaving you on a frozen screen.

Six two-player games built into the call: Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect Four, Rock Paper Scissors, Draw & Guess, This or That, and Two Truths & a Lie. Moves sync in real time next to the video.

Open the Games tab during a call and pick a game to send an invite. When your match accepts, the game starts for both of you. Either of you can quit at any time.

Icebreakers drop a random question into the chat for both of you to answer. Reactions float across both screens. A high-five needs both of you: if your match sends one back in time, you both get confetti.

Your streak counts the days in a row you've chatted. It's saved in your browser along with your number of chats and games won, and shown when you come back.

Yes. Esc skips to the next person, M mutes or unmutes your microphone, and V turns your camera on or off.

Adults 18 and over. Everyone confirms their age and agrees to the community guidelines before their first chat.

No. Video and audio go peer-to-peer between you and your match over an encrypted WebRTC connection, and Chatingly doesn't record your calls. Two things do leave the call: when someone reports you, a few snapshots of your video from that moment go to our moderators with the report; and small, low-resolution frames of each call's video are checked for nudity by our own detector, which keeps a flagged camera's highest-scoring frame for 14 days so moderators can check it.

Chatingly hides video that may contain nudity. A stranger's video is blurred for a moment while it's checked, and stays blurred while it may show nudity; the check runs in your browser, and our server's detector can blur it too. To see it anyway, tap Show video and confirm (for that call only), or turn off “Hide explicit video” before you start. If a video keeps showing nudity, you're moved on to someone new and offered a way to report them.

When you press Start with your camera on, your browser checks that a face is on camera. The check runs on your device and the picture isn't sent anywhere. If it can't see you, face the camera in good light and press Start again. If your own camera keeps showing nudity during a call, the call ends; nobody is banned or reported because of that, though other people can still report you.

Tap the block button next to the flag and confirm. The chat ends and you won't be matched with them again. Blocking doesn't report them: use the flag to tell our moderators what happened.

There are no accounts or profiles; you get a random nickname every visit. Like any peer-to-peer video call, some connection details (such as your IP address) are exchanged with your match's browser to set up the call, and what you show or say on camera is up to you. Never share personal information with strangers.

Tap the flag during a call, choose a reason and add a note if you like. The chat ends immediately, you won't be matched with that person again, and our moderators review the report with a snapshot of their video. Skipped someone too fast? For two minutes after a call ends, the flag still reports them.

Your browser was banned after other people reported you: by our moderators, or automatically and permanently once two different people report you. The screen shows the reason, when the ban ends (some are permanent) and a reference number. If you think it's a mistake, email [email protected] with that number.

No site can guarantee every conversation, but you're always in control: Next ends a call instantly and the flag reports someone in one tap. Keep personal details to yourself, and leave any chat that makes you uncomfortable.