Talk to strangers one at a time

A ChatDuo text chat is a one-on-one conversation between two people: no room full of nicknames, no feed, no audience. When it has run its course you move on, and the next person gets your full attention too.

1. Press Text

   The start panel offers Text or Video. Pick Text and your camera and microphone stay off. Add an interest if you like (Music, Games, Just chatting, Surprise me) and set the chat language.

2. Confirm once, then the search starts

   The first time in a tab, pressing Text opens a short "Before you start" dialog: tick the box confirming that you are 18 or older and agree to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, then press Start text chat. After that, Text starts the search straight away. If you added an interest, the search first looks for someone who shares it and, after a short wait, for anyone online.

3. Say hi, then Next or Stop

   When the applet says "You're through", the other person is as new to this as you are, so a simple opener works. Next finds someone else; Stop (or Esc) returns you to the start panel.

Stuck for a first line? The guide on how to talk to strangers online has openers that work, and how ChatDuo works covers every button.

Random chat with no account and no profile

Random chat on ChatDuo means exactly that: the next person is chosen at random from whoever pressed Start around the same time, with interests as the only optional nudge. There is no profile, no photo and no username. The stranger learns nothing about you except what you type.

People often search for "anonymous text chat". We say no sign-up and no profile instead, because that is the part we can stand behind: what you write is visible to the person you are matched with, and like any website ChatDuo sees your IP address. What happens with it:

• Messages are relayed, not kept

  Messages are relayed live through ChatDuo’s server to the other browser and are not stored once the chat ends. There is no history.

• No account data

  No email, phone number or password on file. A random cookie identifies your browser so that Block and bans work.

• IP addresses are hashed for bans

  A hashed IP stops a banned person from simply reloading. The Privacy Policy has the full list.

Free chat with no registration

ChatDuo is a free online chat with strangers in the plain sense. There is nothing to buy: no coins, no premium tier, no "unlock" button and no time limit. You are never asked for a card or an email address, and an hour-long chat costs the same as a one-minute one, which is nothing.

No registration also means no password and nothing to delete later. Open the page and press Text; close the tab and the chat is over. Any current browser on a phone or computer is enough.

What people use ChatDuo text chat for

Text is the quieter way in. Typing suits a shared room, a commute, a slow connection or a day when you would rather not be on camera. Common uses:

• Practising a language

  Set the chat language to the one you are learning: the search prefers people who chose the same language and widens to anyone online when nobody has. Typing gives you time to think.

• A late-night conversation

  When nobody you know is awake, someone in another time zone is. The online count shows how many people are around.

• Meeting people in other countries

  Matching is worldwide by default. Ask where the other person is and what everyone there is talking about.

• Talking about one thing

  Pick Music, Games or another interest and the search looks for someone who picked it too.

Real people, 18+, moderated

ChatDuo is for adults only. The start panel says "18+ only. Keep it clean!" before every chat, and the Community Guidelines spell out what gets someone removed: no nudity, no harassment, no hate, nobody under 18. Moderation here is concrete: in-chat reports, automatic bans for repeat offenders and review of flagged sessions by the ChatDuo team.

Skip, Report and Block

Three controls are in every chat. Next skips to another person without comment. Report asks for a reason, ends the chat and records it against the other person. Block ends the chat and the two of you are not matched again. Use Next early, and Report rather than argue.

No bots

ChatDuo does not run chatbots, AI partners or scripted accounts. A match is another browser whose owner pressed Start at about the same time as you. Someone pasting the same line at everyone, or pushing a link in the first message, is misusing the site: Report them.

Repeat offenders are banned automatically

When several different people report the same person within 24 hours, a ban is applied without waiting for a review. The ban notice shows the end time, the reason and a reference code for an appeal through the contact form; appeals are free, and paying never lifts a ban. Our safety page has practical tips and explains how to report something serious.

Chat with strangers by text or by video?

The same start panel offers both. Video shows the two of you to each other with a chat column alongside and adds Mute and Camera off. On video the other person can see and hear you and could record their own screen, which is worth remembering before you turn the camera on.

Many people start with text and try video later. The random video chat on the homepage uses the same rules and the same free, no-account approach. Missing the Omegle way of doing things? ChatDuo is also a free Omegle alternative with both modes.

ChatDuo vs Omegle text chat, Ome.gg and OpenTalk

Omegle offered text and video chat with no account from 2009 until it closed on 8 November 2023, and many people now look for a text-first replacement. Every cell about another site comes from its own homepage on the day in the caption; where the page did not say, the cell reads "not shown".

The Omegle column describes the original site. What omegle.com serves today is a script-rendered app whose code contains sign-in, coin and subscription strings, so it is not the free text chat Omegle was.

Frequently asked questions

Start a free text chat