Anonymous and random video chat apps: why they're risky
Random chat, "make friends" and anonymous question apps pair kids with strangers. What they are, why they're risky, and what to do.
- Random video chat apps connect users with strangers, and often expose children to sexual content and predators.
- Anonymous question and "make friends" apps encourage contact with strangers and can enable bullying.
- Block these apps for children and younger teens, and talk about why.
Some apps and websites are built around talking to strangers: random video chat, "make new friends" swiping apps, and anonymous question or confession apps. They're popular with bored or lonely teens. They're also some of the riskiest places for young people online.
Random video chat
These apps and sites connect users with a random stranger by video. The most famous, Omegle, shut down in 2023 after years of concerns about child safety, but many similar apps and sites remain.
Why they're risky:
- Children are frequently exposed to sexual content and indecent exposure
- Offenders use them to find and pressure children
- Screen recordings can be taken and used for sextortion
- Age checks are weak or absent
"Make friends" apps
Apps that let users swipe or browse profiles to find new friends, sometimes linked to Snapchat. They often have minimum ages that are easy to get around, and attract adults seeking contact with young people.
Anonymous question and confession apps
Apps and features where people send anonymous questions, comments or "confessions". They can be harmless fun, but often enable:
- Bullying, because senders are anonymous
- Sexual or harassing messages
- Collecting personal information
Signs your child is using them
- Unfamiliar apps, especially with chat or video features
- Talking to strangers late at night
- Being secretive or anxious about the phone
- Sudden new "friends" from other countries or cities
What to do
Block them
Use app approvals in Family Link or Screen Time so your child can't install them. Add their websites to blocked sites.
Talk about why
"These apps connect you with random strangers, and a lot of them are adults looking for kids. It's not about trust in you; it's about not trusting them."
Address loneliness
Teens often use these apps because they're bored or lonely. Help them find connection in safer places: clubs, sports, interest groups, moderated communities, and friends they know.
If something happened
If your child saw sexual content, was asked for images, or recorded, stay calm. Save what evidence you can (without saving sexual images), report the app and to the CICC (1326). See how to report online child abuse.
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