ChatDuo FAQ

Open the homepage, add interests if you like, then press Text or Video. The first time in a tab a short “Before you start” dialog asks you to tick one box confirming you are an adult who accepts the rules, then press Start text chat or Start video chat. The how ChatDuo works page shows each step with screenshots.

Text is typing only: nobody sees or hears you. Video adds your camera and microphone, with Mute and Camera off buttons during the chat, and keeps the text column. Both are random and free. To type only, start on the free text chat with strangers page.

Matching is random. If you add interests, the search first looks for someone who shares one; if nobody does, it falls back to anyone online. The chat language selector works the same way: someone waiting in the same language is preferred, and when nobody is you are matched anyway; it does not translate messages. Neither is a filter by country or gender.

Next ends the chat and finds a new stranger. Stop ends it: press Stop, then Really? to confirm (Esc works too), and the button becomes New so you can start another chat when you like. Report ends the chat after you pick a reason and counts against the other person. Block ends it, and the two of you are not matched again. Pictured in the Report, Block and automatic bans section.

Yes, and there is no option to create one. ChatDuo is a free random video chat with no registration and no login: no accounts, profiles or usernames. You open the page, tick the one checkbox and start. The trade-off: no friends list and no chat history. See what you need to start.

No. Nothing on ChatDuo costs money today: there are no coins, no premium tier, no timer running down and no payment form. Bans cannot be lifted by paying either, and appeals are free. If that ever changes, the Terms of Service and this page will be updated.

Random chat means meeting strangers with no screening, so ChatDuo is for adults only. Before the first chat in a tab you confirm that you are 18 or older and an adult where you live. See the age policy and what ChatDuo does and does not do for safety.

Keep it clean, as the start panel says: no nudity or sexual content, no harassment, hate or threats, no spam or scams, and nobody under 18. The full list is in the Community Guidelines. Break them and repeated reports mean a ban.

Bans happen automatically, when several different people report the same person within 24 hours or when a browser behaves like a bot, and manually after the ChatDuo team reviews reports. The report reasons someone can pick are nudity or sexual content, harassment or threats, appearing underage, and spam or scams. The Safety and Reporting Policy explains the process.

Press Report, pick a reason and confirm “Report and end chat”. The chat ends at once. The report is logged against the other person: several reports from different people within 24 hours trigger an automatic ban, and the ChatDuo team can review flagged sessions. More on reporting, bans and appeals.

Appeals are free, and paying never lifts a ban. Open the contact form, choose “Appeal a ban” and include the reference code from your ban notice and what happened. Bans attach to a hashed IP address and a browser cookie, not an account, so the code is how the team finds your case.

Report in the chat first, choosing the matching reason. Then tell us more through the contact form with the subject “Safety report”, including roughly when it happened. Reports involving suspected minors are prioritised and may be referred to law enforcement. Do not save or share images. See safety.

No. Video and audio are a WebRTC stream between the two browsers that ChatDuo does not record; text is relayed as it is typed and discarded when the chat closes. What is kept, and for how long, is set out in the Privacy Policy.

Yes, and assume they could. The stranger sees and hears you on video, and nothing stops them recording their own screen. That is why the safety tips say: show nothing you would not want saved, keep identifying details out of frame, and press Next early if something feels off.

Very little, because there is no sign-up. IP addresses are hashed and used for bans. A random cookie (randid) identifies your browser so that bans and blocks hold. Usage statistics carry no identifier, and the content of chats is not stored. The Privacy Policy lists everything; the Cookie Policy covers the cookie.

Not in an absolute sense, so we say “chat with strangers with no sign-up” rather than “anonymous chat”. The other person learns only what you choose to show or type; on video they see your face and surroundings, and your IP address is hashed for bans. The talking to strangers guide covers what to keep private.

No. There is no ChatDuo app in any store: open chatduo.com in Safari on an iPhone or Chrome on Android and press Text or Video. On a phone the video sits on top with the chat below, and you can swipe to skip. More on the how it works page.

Any current browser that supports WebRTC: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on desktop, and the standard browsers on iPhone and Android. Video chat also needs permission to use your camera and microphone. Browsers built into other apps may block the camera. See what you need.

Usually the browser denied, or never got, permission. Look for the camera icon in the address bar, allow camera and microphone for chatduo.com and reload. On a phone, check that the browser has camera permission in the system settings. The troubleshooting section has more.

No. Omegle was a separate site, unrelated to ChatDuo, that ran from 2009 and closed on 8 November 2023. ChatDuo is a free Omegle alternative built on the same idea, one random stranger at a time, with Report and Block in every chat. Read what happened to Omegle and the Omegle alternative page.

Each site makes different trade-offs, so we compare them one at a time, with every claim checked on the other site and dated. ChatDuo is browser only, needs no account, has a text mode and has nothing to buy. Start with the alternatives overview, then the OmeTV, Monkey, Chatroulette or Emerald Chat comparison.

No. ChatDuo has no filters by gender or country, no face effects and no group rooms today. Interests and the chat language nudge the first match. If a filter matters more to you than a free chat with no account, the comparisons say what each site offers.