- Omegle has officially shut down after 14 years.
- It was a popular video chat platform that lets you connect with strangers globally.
- Omegle’s co-founder cited attacks on the site as the reason behind shutting it down.
Omegle, one of the most popular video chat platforms, has officially shut down after 14 years. It was a free online chat website that allowed users to connect with strangers around the world without needing to register. The site’s popularity led to the creation of several Omegle alternatives as well, which you can read about now that the service is shutting down.
Why is Omegle shutting down?
If you visit the Omegle website, you’re greeted with a tombstone of Omegle, and a lengthy letter by the site’s creator Leif K-Brooks. The letter begins with Leif talking about what led to the creation of Omegle. They go on to explain how it became popular, and what eventually led to the decision of shutting down. Leif describes Omegle facing “a constant barrage of attacks on communication services.”
“To an extent, it is reasonable to question the policies and practices of any place where crime has occurred. I have always welcomed constructive feedback; and indeed, Omegle implemented a number of improvements based on such feedback over the years. However, the recent attacks have felt anything but constructive.”
“The only way to please these people is to stop offering the service. Sometimes they say so, explicitly and avowedly; other times, it can be inferred from their act of setting standards that are not humanly achievable. Either way, the net result is the same,” Leif explained.
Leif further explains how he tried to stop these attacks as much as possible but everything together including operating the site, “is no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically.”
Omegle is no longer available. For those unaware, Omegle was a site that randomly paired users in one-on-one chat sessions. The way it works is very simple and easy to use. You’re matched with a random stranger online with whom you can talk, and skip if you’re not interested anymore.
There were options to hide your camera and microphone and find strangers based on common interests as well. Omegle has been around for more than a decade but its popularity spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic as people resorted to long-distance communication tools. But with the site no more, it looks like people will have to resort to other Omegle alternatives now.
