Chatroulette Review (2020)

Chatroulette is one of the most popular chat sites used by youngsters from different parts of the world.

The specialty of this site is that it allows random users to connect through webcam and enables them to interact with each other.

Members who are shy or hesitant to talk have the option to disable their microphone and use this website for merely looking at strangers.

A special thing about this site is that the members do not have to sign-up or fill-up a registration form to start chatting. 

You don’t have to sign-up or login to connect with random people living in the remotest places on Earth.

Chatroulette was launched in November 2009 and it became a new sensation as people were able to talk to strangers effortlessly. This is one of those few chat sites that have gained publicity from word-of-mouth and not through regressive promotions and marketing strategies.  

People can even chat with celebrities through this site and over the years, many of them have even shared the screen grabs of them chatting with various Hollywood celebrities.

It started getting over 1.5 million visitors daily within no time but the popularity was slightly hampered as more of such sites were introduced in the online market. 

However, it still experiences  over 1 million visitors every day. This means that it is still popular among most of the chat sites. 

The sheer thrill and excitement of seeing a stranger makes Chatroulette the first option for millions of users even today. Let us discuss the best features of this site now.

Remarkable features of Chatroulette

Chatroulette has included some simple yet effective features for providing a hassle-free experience to its users.

For example, if you are interested in adult chat, you can pick the random chat option.

 However, if you are not interested in sexual chats or adult content then you can choose to go with filtered chats.

The filtered chats can be used by minors as well whereas the unfiltered chats are strictly for adults only. As the result, minors or kids cannot use different types of random and unfiltered chats. 

To avoid misuse and spammers, Chatroulette has included some strict rules and guidelines. If you do something illegal or inappropriate on the webcam, you will be blocked immediately by the moderators.

Moreover, you cannot advertise your product or services using this site. If you break or ignore any of the above-mentioned rules, your account will be banned permanently from this website. 

The site encourages its users to use the report button in case you find others doing any of the above forbidden things. Also, it recommends the users to ask permission from their chatting partner before indulging in adult chat exchange.

Also, you won’t be reported or blocked by the site ever if you treat your chat partners with respect and at the same time, maintain your dignity.

To make this interface much more interesting and useful for its users, the site has started integrating new and innovative features. These features are in the development phase and therefore, you can expect to see them very soon.

For example, it allows the users to hit the like button while chatting with a random member. This needs to be done only if you like your random chat partner. However, he/she won’t be aware whether you have liked their performance or not.

If your partner also hits the like button, then it becomes a mutual match and the site will try to connect you with the same user again whenever you will come online in future.

There is no guarantee that you both will be paired again. This is because, for that, you both have to be online simultaneously. However, numerous people around the world like this feature as it adds an element of unpredictability to their chats.

People who want to engage in adult chats only can choose the option of unfiltered chats as it is strictly meant for individuals who are feeling horny. Therefore, people who use this chat option have the freedom of putting on sexy or revealing clothes to seduce their partner.

We found many users, especially the males, were naked while using this site. However, we do not recommend nudity as some users might be offended even if they are using the unfiltered chat option.

Instead, we recommend you to seek consent from your partner before you engage in such indecent or sexual acts. People who do not wish to engage in any form of nudity or adult chats can go for different filtered chat options. 

On the other hand, people who are not feeling horny but do not mind indulging in adult chats can go with random chat.

This is because the random chat option is preferred by users who are not bothered by nudity and wish to indulge in sexual chats if they find their chat partners to be attractive.

Overview

People hardly get time to interact with their friends and colleagues these days. The reason for this is the busy schedules and our lazy lifestyle.

We have become so addicted to social media and the internet that we hardly go out after coming home from office or college.

However, we might understand that due to this lifestyle we often lose many friends and loved ones to talk to. 

The ones we already know are busy with their boyfriends and girlfriends whereas we hardly get in touch with our school friends and neighbors. All these things make us feel lonely many times. 

However, you can entertain yourself and get social again by using chat sites like Chatroulette. It is a free site and therefore, you won’t mind spending your free time on it.

Moreover, you will meet many good- looking people who might share their contact details with you for interacting even more. 

There is no way to mark your favorite members on this site and you cannot invite your social media friends here. Therefore, you must rely on the roulette feature of this site to connect you with some of the good looking and well-mannered individuals. 

Also, you don’t have to keep chatting and talking with individuals who do not seem to be interesting. You can simply press the spacebar of your keyboard and move to the next random user.

As we have said earlier, you don’t have to create an account to mingle with other members of this site. However, this also means that you don’t have to provide any of your private details on this site.

You simply have to choose your gender, chat type you like, and whether you want to blur the face of your partner or not. This feature is provided to all the individuals who do not like to see with whom they are chatting initially. 

They have two options when it comes to blurring. One is the light blur option which can be chosen for blurring the webcam of chat partner slightly and the other is the heavy blur option which can be used for blurring the live stream completely.

Moreover, they also have the option of removing the blur effect anytime to see the face of your partner. Also, before connecting with random strangers through Chatroulette, you need to provide access to webcam and microphone to this site. 

You might choose to deny access to microphones if you do not want to talk with random people or you can mute your microphone to avoid speaking with them. 

Many people do not wish to speak to strangers as soon as they see them. It is because they like to take their time to start a conversation. For such people the option of mute button is there.

This site also became a subject of controversy as people started complaining about nudity and abusive behavior of the users, pornography, etc.

Some members even used it for faking injuries and suicides which has harmed the site's reputation. Also, there was a lack of means by which users could be tracked as Chatroulette never asked for any details from the viewers. 

Moreover, due to the non-availability of the reporting feature, some miscreants became confident and started behaving obscenely with other users. All of this impacted negatively on the site's ratings. 

On top of that, many users also complained that they came across minors while using this site. This resulted in a public outrage and worried parents wanted this site to be taken down. To avoid this situation, the makers of this site integrated a new technology that recognizes the face of its users. 

This face recognition technology enabled the site to turn down the connection requests from minors. This technology is being used till today and the minors who try to use this site are blocked instantly. 

However, we cannot depend on such technologies completely as many adults might have a baby face and even some minors might appear to be adults on the system.

In the attempt to restore their good reputation among users, the site has included a reporting feature that allows the users to report a person who is behaving obscenely.

The inclusion of the new technologies and reporting option has certainly helped the site to regain some of its lost credibility as individuals can now use this site with much more confidence. 

There is nothing to speak about the overall look and feel of this site. This is because it is just a plain looking website that has a single page only. Two chat windows can be seen on this page. One of these windows is smaller and the other one is quite bigger than the other one.

The smaller window displays the person who is using the site himself/herself whereas the larger window shows whom they are chatting with i.e. their chat partner.

You can hit the pause button located on the bottom left corner of the larger window whenever you want to stop chatting. You can hit the same button again for restarting the process again.

However, you must remember that once you hit the pause button you cannot expect the same user to start chatting with you. This is because your chat partner will be notified that you have disconnected the chat the moment you will hit the pause button.

As the result, the site will automatically connect them with a new user. On the top left corner of the bigger chat window, you will see an option named 'Rules & Information'. New users can click on this option to get familiar with all the rules and guidelines of this chat site. 

Though the random chat option is not strictly meant for adult chats, we found that most of the members were using it for fulfilling their horny desires. At the top right side of the bigger chat window, you will find some social media links.

These links are nothing but the social media pages on. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram about  the site. This site earns its revenue through advertisements. Therefore, you can expect some ads while using it.

However, these advertisements are not flashy and they do not pop-up randomly. Therefore, you will enjoy a smooth experience while accessing the features of this chat platform.

We also found that the number of female users here is far less than male users. Even some transgender and shemales use this platform but they are scarce.

As the result, we can say that this site is great for straight women and girls who are looking forward to interact with random men.

Moreover, they will also experience some nudity for free if they go for the unfiltered chats as most men who use this option get nude even before they are connected with the other users.

Also, gay men  find this site interesting too, especially if they are looking forward to flirt and have fun with straight men. However, straight men might be uninterested if they are not connected with female users easily on some days. 

Overall, we can say that it is a great portal for people who want to enjoy some time with total strangers.

Pricing

Chatroulette never charges you for using any of its services and therefore, you do not have to worry about buying any paid plans or spending your tokens.

Pros
  • Chatroulette is used by people all over the world but most of its users are from the US, Canada, and UK. Therefore, this site presents you with the opportunity of interacting with users of different religions, nationalities, races, ethnicity, etc. 
  • Also, people from all walks of life use this site to get away from their monotonous routine. As the result, you can even interact with people of different mindsets and professions here. 
  • It is a perfect site for horny youngsters who cannot find any convenient place to exert their sexual frustration. This is because almost eighty percent of the users visit Chatroulette to have fun. Therefore, they don’t mind talking dirty with strangers at all.
  • Chatroulette can prove to be a great place for teenagers and youngsters who have low self-esteem. People tackling confidence issues can use this platform for building up their confidence. They can do that by opening up in front of random strangers.
  • They can express their emotions and worries to their chat partner which will impact positively on their mindset.
  • Millions of people use this site every day. Therefore, you would find many exciting individuals whenever you visit this site.
  • Chatroulette is much better than other dating sites where you will need to wait for a long time to see your favorite members. On the contrary, you will get only a few seconds on this site to decide whether the person will be worth your time or not.
  • This strikes down any possibility of false assumptions, and misinterpretations. The person who is chatting with you cannot pretend to be someone who they are not because you are stranger to them.
  • This rule applies to you as well. You do not have to impose or manipulate your real personality while interacting with another person who hardly knows anything about you.
  • These factors make Chatroulette a happening place for natural and genuine conversations. If you like a person you can chat with them for hours or you can simply reject them after a few seconds.
  • There are few chances of people messing with you on Chatroulette because of the integration of the report button. As the result, nuisance creators get reprimanded and banned really quickly and more people are saved from miscreants.
  • Anyone can use this site because it doesn’t have multiple pages or options to go through. This works for most of the users because they simply want to spend some time  interacting with strangers without wasting their time on countless options that eventually lead to the same thing.
  • Since millions of users binge on this site, you might find plenty of users who are living nearby. Though the possibility of finding true love here is rare, but the possibility cannot be denied as two people can exchange their contact numbers over the microphone if they like each other. 
Cons
  • The option of chatting over texts is not available on Chatroulette. This is a major drawback for numerous individuals who like sending texts over talking. This also removes the option of sexting from the list as all they can do is flirt and talk dirty.
  • You cannot access this site over a smartphone. The makers of this site have not created any app and neither this site is mobile-friendly. As the result, you won't be able to access its features using your android and iOS phones. 
  • The popularity of this site has reduced considerably over the last couple of years since better sites and options are available for people now. Moreover, the option of free chatting with random users is also provided by many adult chatting portals nowadays.
  • The option of registration is not provided to the members. This also removes the possibility of creating profiles and therefore, you cannot check the profiles of your favorite people before or after chatting with them.
  • Lack of profile also raises serious security concerns. It is hard to track down miscreants because very little details are available about them on the site.
  • Some users are hesitant to show their faces to random people. As the result, they hide their face or they avoid showing their face to the webcam completely. This can be a major turn off to those individuals who want to see and make an eye contact with the person they are talking to.
  • No filters or categories are provided for filtering the members. You just have to rely on the matchmaking roulette and there is no way to raise your issues if you are not happy with what you get. 
  • You will mostly find straight and gay men on this site who flash their private parts shamelessly even before starting a conversation. This can be repelling for many users who want to talk with well-mannered individuals.
  • Most of the users do nothing but keep disconnecting the chats as they are only interested in watching random people for a few seconds. It can be frustrating for users who want to have a meaningful conversation.
  • You cannot send friend requests nor can you add the users to your favorite list. Therefore, there is a high chance that you won’t be able to see a person again even if you liked them unless you have exchanged your contact numbers while talking.
  • The internet connection has to be powerful for continuing the conversation seamlessly. Therefore, there is a high chance of chats getting disconnected due to low internet speed.
  • There are no HD webcams here as most of the users use the regular webcams or webcams of their laptops to interact with other members. As a result, this site does not guarantee a great webcam experience to its users. Most of the users use a low-quality camera and this can spoil your overall experience to a great extent. 
Competition

Chatroulette is not the only site on the internet that provides free roulette-type video chatting options to its users.

Many other sites provide more features and options to their users for free. 

Shagle is one such alternative that provides a free video chatting platform to its members. Like Chatroulette, it also connects people to its random users.

However, it is better than Chatroulette because it provides the option of sending text messages while people are streaming live over a webcam. 

Moreover, Shagle provides virtual masks for its users which enables them to hide their identity easily. Also, you can set gender and location filters to streamline your random connections.

However, you will be required to purchase a premium plan to utilize these filters. Shagle can also be used on mobile phones as it has a mobile-friendly site. You can also express your liking by tapping the heart icon while chatting with random users. 

All these features make Shagle a much better site than Chatroulette. However, Chatroulette is completely free whereas you will require a premium plan to use some of the exclusive features here.

Bazoocam is another alternative to Chatroulette. It uses a geolocation system to connect random people but it only connects you with people who are living nearby.It is a better site for people who are interested in exploring their chances of dating while interacting with random people over webcams.

Omegle is a chat platform that is similar to Chatroulette. Most of its members use it for adult chatting and they don’t mind sharing dirty images and gifs with their chat partners.

Like Chatroulette, Omegle also allows the users to start chatting with strangers without registering or creating an account. Moreover, people who don’t want to show their faces can either use face masks or they can turn the webcam off and interact using plain texts.

Omegle offers all its services for free and even uses the same kind of interface that Chatroulette does. However, it is better than Chatroulette because you can use the texting option. 

Moreover, Omegle allows you to use filters for tweaking your chances of meeting with appropriate people while using the random video chat feature.

TinyChat is in many ways a better version of Chatroulette. This is because it not only provides video chatting options but also enables its members to chat through voice and text messages. Moreover, an instant messaging service is also provided to all those people who are ready to pay a nominal monthly fee.

TinyChat can be accessed on android and Apple phones through a mobile app. It even allows its members to create their own chat rooms. Anyone above 13 years of age can register on this site and therefore, you might come across some minors here. 

Registration can be completed using Facebook credentials and no email verification is required to start your experience. All these features make it an ideal chatting platform for many individuals.

Chatroulette is much better when it comes to its video chatting experience because it connects people over webcam within seconds whereas TinyChat uses video conference settings to connect two people.

Also, it is slightly different as it does not use the feature of  connecting with random people.

These were the top competitors of Chatroulette. We can easily see here that Chatroulette is lagging in several aspects and needs to work on its design and features if it wants to regain its lost position. 

Also, the integration of text messages is a must if it wants to attract more users in the coming days.

Chatroulette is not the only site on the internet that provides free roulette-type video chatting options to its users. Many other sites provide more features and options to their users for free. 

Shagle is one such alternative that provides a free video chatting platform to its members. Like Chatroulette, it also connects people to its random users. However, it is better than Chatroulette because it provides the option of sending text messages while people are streaming live over a webcam. 

Moreover, Shagle provides virtual masks for its users which enables them to hide their identity easily. Also, you can set gender and location filters to streamline your random connections.

However, you will be required to purchase a premium plan to utilize these filters. Shagle can also be used on mobile phones as it has a mobile-friendly site. You can also express your liking by tapping the heart icon while chatting with random users. 

All these features make Shagle a much better site than Chatroulette. However, Chatroulette is completely free whereas you will require a premium plan to use some of the exclusive features here.

Bazoocam is another alternative to Chatroulette. It uses a geolocation system to connect random people but it only connects you with people who are living nearby.It is a better site for people who are interested in exploring their chances of dating while interacting with random people over webcams.

Omegle is a chat platform that is similar to Chatroulette. Most of its members use it for adult chatting and they don’t mind sharing dirty images and gifs with their chat partners.

Like Chatroulette, Omegle also allows the users to start chatting with strangers without registering or creating an account. Moreover, people who don’t want to show their faces can either use face masks or they can turn the webcam off and interact using plain texts.

Omegle offers all its services for free and even uses the same kind of interface that Chatroulette does. However, it is better than Chatroulette because you can use the texting option. 

Moreover, Omegle allows you to use filters for tweaking your chances of meeting with appropriate people while using the random video chat feature.

TinyChat is in many ways a better version of Chatroulette. This is because it not only provides video chatting options but also enables its members to chat through voice and text messages. Moreover, an instant messaging service is also provided to all those people who are ready to pay a nominal monthly fee.

TinyChat can be accessed on android and Apple phones through a mobile app. It even allows its members to create their own chat rooms. Anyone above 13 years of age can register on this site and therefore, you might come across some minors here. 

Registration can be completed using Facebook credentials and no email verification is required to start your experience. All these features make it an ideal chatting platform for many individuals.

Chatroulette is much better when it comes to its video chatting experience because it connects people over webcam within seconds whereas TinyChat uses video conference settings to connect two people.

Also, it is slightly different as it does not use the feature of  connecting with random people.

These were the top competitors of Chatroulette. We can easily see here that Chatroulette is lagging in several aspects and needs to work on its design and features if it wants to regain its lost position. 

Also, the integration of text messages is a must if it wants to attract more users in the coming days.

Customer Support

Chatroulette does not have a dedicated page for customer support. However, you can click on the 'Rules & Information' option for accessing some of its support services that are available.

If you want to convey your feedback to the site, you can send an email on- feedback@chatroulette.com.

People who send their feedback regularly get to use the new features of the site a little earlier than they are launched as the site tests whether its users would like them or not by following up with a short questionnaire.

If you are facing any technical glitches or issues while using this platform, then you can send an email to their support team. This is the email address which you must contact - support@chatroulette.com

YouTube videos of Chatroulette

A video of a random guy’s experience on Chatroulette: 

Another video that demonstrates a guy’s experience on this portal:

Final Verdict

These were some of the coolest features and limitations about Chatroulette. We hope that you liked reading new things about this video chat platform.

There is no harm in trying out this site for having fun with random people but you must stay away from random links that appear on the promotional ads.

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