Meet new people online. Start from what you share.

On your profile you add the languages you speak, your interests and a short bio. Discover then lets you filter the people who are online: by country, language, age range, gender and reputation, and by shared interests. Looking for someone to practise Spanish with, or someone who also likes climbing? Filter for it and you see only the people who fit.

The person on the other side sees your profile too, so a good bio and honest interests make the first message easier for everybody.

Press Chat on a person who is online and they get a request. If they accept, you are in a private chat. If they are busy, you can join their queue. If they are offline, you can schedule a chat and you are told when they are back. You can also send a direct message request. You get to send one message, and the other person can reply or decline, so nobody is flooded with messages they never asked for.

After conversations, people rate each other anonymously on politeness, thoughtfulness, how easy they were to talk to, honesty and open-mindedness. Once someone has talked or debated with at least three different people, their reputation shows on their profile, and you can filter for people with a good one. A leaderboard shows who is rated highest.

If you would rather meet people through ideas than through small talk, try a debate. Pick a topic and a side and you are matched with someone who holds the other view. Many good conversations begin with a disagreement that stayed polite.

A profile shows your display name, an optional photo, your age, gender, country, the languages you speak, your interests, a short bio and, once you have enough ratings, your reputation. Your email address is never shown. A photo is optional, and nobody has to turn on a camera to talk to you.

Treat the bio as a conversation starter. One concrete sentence about what you like, or what you want to talk about, gives the other person something to answer. People with an empty profile get fewer replies, because nobody knows what to say to them.

Language learners use theChatStage to find people who speak the language they are learning. Add the languages you speak, then filter Discover for the language you want to practise. Say in your first message what you are doing, for example that you are learning Spanish and would like to chat for ten minutes in simple sentences. Most people are glad to help when they know what you want.

The interface is in English, but conversations can be in any language the two of you share.

Skip a bare hello. Mention something from their profile, ask one open question, and keep it short. If they do not answer, move on; people are busy, and a request that is not accepted costs you nothing. If they do answer, ask a follow-up about what they said rather than about yourself.

Messages are not screened before delivery. You can report any person or message with the flag icon and block anyone you do not want to hear from. A person on our team reviews reports, and serious violations lead to suspension or a permanent ban. People under 18 meet only people under 18, and adults meet only adults.

Your email address is never shown to other people. They see your display name, photo, age, gender, country, languages, interests and bio, so share only what you are comfortable with.