Talk to a random stranger in seconds. It's free and anonymous, with no login and nothing to download. Press the button and you're in a one-to-one chat with someone new.
- Free forever
- No login
- Anonymous
- 18+ only
Random chat puts you in a one-to-one conversation with a stranger chosen at random from whoever is online. You don't pick the person and they don't pick you. If the chat is good, you keep going. If it isn't, either of you presses Stop Chat and meets someone else a few seconds later. Some people call it stranger chat, some search for chat random; it's the same idea, and it's the quickest way to talk to random people without signing up anywhere.
This is the random chat from TalkWithStranger. Over the last four weeks about 172,000 people used it, and the average visit lasted around 18 minutes. Around 330 people are online at any moment, and together they send roughly half a million messages a day. It's an anonymous chat: no account, no email address, no app to install. You only need a nickname.
How to chat with random people here
- Choose a nickname. Gender, age, country and interests are optional. Anything you fill in shows on your profile; anything you leave blank stays private.
- Press 1-1 Chat. The site pairs you with someone who is waiting at the same time. People who wrote the same interests are paired first, and the chat tells you what you have in common.
- Write the first line. Text, a voice note, a GIF or an emoji all work. You can see when the other person is typing.
- Stay or move on. Keep talking, start a game, send a friend request, or press Stop Chat. You can talk to as many random people in a day as you like.
Everything you can do here
Most random chat sites give you a text box and a Next button. This one is a full chat app that happens to start with a random stranger:
- Instant matching with interests. Usually a few seconds to a new person, and people who like the same things are paired first.
- Rich messages. Voice notes, GIFs, emoji, photos and videos, with a typing indicator so you know a reply is coming.
- Random voice calls. One tap pairs you with a stranger for an audio-only call.
- Group voice rooms. Up to 50 people per room, open to anyone to listen, mic muted until you choose to speak.
- Video when you both agree. Either person can ask; it starts only when the other accepts.
- Call people directly. Ring a friend or anyone you're messaging with a voice or video call. Missed a call? It's in Call History, and call waiting lets a second caller reach you.
- Friends and DMs. Keep up to 50 friends, message anyone who's online, and send a wave to everyone online at once.
- Games built in. Tic-tac-toe, rock-paper-scissors, hangman and word chain with your chat partner.
- Works like an app. Add it to your home screen and it opens full screen, with notifications when someone messages you.
- Your nickname, your devices. Protect your nickname with a password and use it on up to five devices, with your settings following you, dark mode included.
- Likes and leaderboards. Good conversations earn likes, and the most-liked people show up on the leaderboard.
- Free, all of it. No coins, no premium plan, no paid filters.
Random text chat, voice calls and video
Most people here use random text chat, and it's what you get when you press 1-1 Chat. Text chat with strangers is quiet, works on a weak connection, and you can do it on the bus or at your desk without anyone hearing. The other ways to talk are a tap away:
- 1-1 Call: a random voice chat with one stranger, audio only. A lot of people use it to practise spoken English. There's more about it on our random voice call page.
- Group Call: live voice rooms with up to 50 people. Anyone can walk in and listen. Your mic starts muted, so nobody hears you until you choose to talk.
- Video: inside a 1-1 chat, either person can ask to switch on video. Nothing starts until the other person accepts. If nudity shows up on camera, the video ends straight away, and people who do it again lose video. If video is what you're after, see video chat with strangers.
- Direct messages: message anyone in the online list privately, or carry on with someone you met in random chat. About 85% of all messages on the site are DMs, because good conversations tend to continue there.
- Games: tic-tac-toe, rock-paper-scissors, hangman and word chain, played with your chat partner without leaving the chat.
Who you'll meet in stranger chat
Close to half of the people chatting are in India. After that come the United States, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Philippines, followed by people from across Europe and Australia. The chat is busiest around 11pm to 1am India time, which is early afternoon in New York. It's quietest between about 6am and 9am in India, and even then you'll be matched quickly. If you'd rather pick a room by region or language, TalkWithStranger also runs international chat rooms.
Five out of six people use stranger chat on a phone, so the site is built to stay quick on cheap phones and patchy mobile data. English is the common language. With so many people from India and Pakistan you'll also see a lot of Hindi, Urdu and Hinglish.
Random chat after Omegle
Omegle shut down in November 2023 after fourteen years, and a lot of people went looking for an Omegle alternative that still felt like the original: press a button, get a stranger, say hi. That's what random chat here is. The difference is in the details. You can see a stranger's nickname and interests before you write, spam links don't get through, video is opt-in for both people, and when someone good comes along you can add them as a friend instead of losing them forever. If you miss the plain text version, there's also Omegle-style text chat on the main site.
First messages that get answered
"Hi" is the most common opening line in random chat, and it gets skipped more than anything else. The person on the other side decides in a couple of seconds whether to stay, so give them something to answer:
- "It's 1am here and I can't sleep. What's keeping you up?"
- "Settle this for me: is pineapple on pizza a crime?"
- "We both put cricket in our interests. Kohli or Babar?"
- "What's the best thing you ate this week?"
- "Recommend me one song. I'll tell you honestly what I think."
Skip "asl". Age and country are already on the profile if the person wanted to share them, and asking again makes you sound like a bot. If someone answers in two words, ask something easier. If they write a paragraph, ask about a detail from it. And if you're leaving, a quick "nice talking to you" before Stop Chat is better than vanishing.
Make friends online through random chat
Plenty of people come for a five-minute chat and end up talking for weeks. When a conversation goes well, send a friend request. Friends see each other in their list, can message any time and can call each other directly. A friendship stays active as long as you keep talking; leave it untouched for two weeks and it quietly expires, so the list doesn't fill up with people you've forgotten. If you want to keep the same nickname on your phone and laptop, you can protect it with a password, which is optional.
Is random chat safe?
Random chat on TalkWithStranger is for adults aged 18 and over.
Spam bots are the biggest problem on most chat sites. Here, links and contact details that bots post are filtered out before they reach you. Photos and videos from strangers stay hidden unless you switch on "Allow incoming images & videos" in settings. You can block or report anyone with one tap, and moderators read the reports.
The rest is down to you:
- Don't give out your full name, address, school, workplace or phone number.
- Anything you send can be screenshotted, so send only what you'd be fine seeing again.
- If a stranger asks for money, gift cards or crypto, it's a scam. Report them and move on.
- Be wary of anyone pushing you to another app early on. That's how most scams start.
Random chat, chat rooms or dating apps?
| Random chat | Chat rooms | Dating apps | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you talk to | One stranger at a time | Everyone in the room | Matches you both chose |
| Sign-up | None | Sometimes | Always, usually with photos |
| Leaving | One tap, no explanation | Just stop typing | Unmatch |
| Best for | Conversation, boredom, practising a language | Hanging out with a crowd | Looking for a date |
Most online chat falls into one of these three, and not every chat site works the same way. If you'd rather be in a crowd, TalkWithStranger has free chat rooms and anonymous chat rooms. If you want to talk to strangers in a group first, start there. For a classic text-only site, there's chat with strangers. And here on random chat, the Group Call voice rooms give you a crowd with voices.
Is there a random chat app?
You don't need one. Random chat runs in the browser on Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Mac. On a phone, open the menu in Chrome or Safari and choose "Add to Home screen": you get an icon that opens straight into the chat, full screen, like an app, without a download from the app store. Turn on notifications and you'll hear about new messages even when the chat isn't open.
Random chat questions
What is random chat?
Random chat pairs you with one stranger picked at random from everyone online. You talk one-to-one, and either of you can skip to someone new at any time. Here it's free and needs no login.
Is random chat free?
Yes. Text chat, voice calls, group voice rooms, video and games cost nothing. There are no coins, no premium plan and no paid filters. Ads pay for the site.
Is this a good Omegle alternative?
If you liked Omegle's press-a-button-get-a-stranger idea, yes. It works the same way, with interest matching, spam filtering, opt-in video and the option to keep in touch with people you like.
Do I need to sign up or download an app?
No. It runs in the browser on Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Mac. You start with a nickname. Protecting your nickname with a password is optional and only useful if you want to keep it on more than one device.
Can I choose who I talk to?
Not directly, because matching is random. People who share an interest are matched first, though, and anyone you liked can be added as a friend or messaged later.
Is it anonymous?
Yes. Other people see your nickname and whatever profile details you chose to add. You never give an email or phone number, so there's nothing else to see.
Who can use random chat?
Adults aged 18 and over.
Why does nobody reply when I say hi?
Because almost everyone opens with "hi". Ask a real question instead, or start from an interest you both share. It makes a big difference.
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About 330 people are online right now.
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