Text chat with strangers, no camera needed.

Yes. To chat you need a free account and you must be at least 16. You sign up with an email and password or with Google, and you confirm your email address. It takes a minute. There is no way to chat without an account, and that is on purpose: it is what lets people rate each other, report problems and block someone who has been rude.

You do not need an account to look around. Visitors can browse debate topics and watch debates that are live or published.

A chat is a private session between two people. Messages arrive in real time. You can reply to a specific earlier message, react to messages, send photos and short voice notes, and keep talking for as long as you both like. Either person can end the chat. You can also send a direct message request to someone who is not online: you send one message, and they can reply or decline.

Discover lists the people who are online. Filter by country, language, age range, gender and reputation, or by shared interests, then press Chat. They get a request and the chat starts if they accept. If they are busy you can join their queue, and if they are offline you can schedule a chat and be told when they are back. Random chat does the picking for you among the people who fit your filters.

Text gives both people time. You can think, look something up, and say what you mean. It also suits people who are shy, who are practising a language, or who are somewhere they cannot talk aloud. If you want to practise a language, filter for people who speak it and tell them at the start what you are doing.

Short messages feel like conversation; long ones feel like a letter. Ask one question at a time. Use the reply feature to answer a specific earlier message when the chat moves fast. React to a message with an emoji when a full reply is not needed. If you are chatting in a language you are still learning, say so; most people will slow down and keep their sentences simple.

Text is easier than video for many people, but we are not finished. We work toward WCAG 2.1 level AA and are partially conformant today. Voice notes, for example, have no captions or transcripts yet. The accessibility statement lists the known gaps and how to report a barrier.

A text chat is private between the two people in it. Your email address is never shown, and you choose the display name and the profile details other people see. Keep personal contact details out of the first conversations, and think before you send a photo. Messages are stored so that both people can read the conversation. The Privacy Policy explains who can see them and how long we keep them.

After a chat both people have 24 hours to rate each other on politeness, thoughtfulness, ease of talking to, honesty and open-mindedness, provided each has sent at least 10 messages. Ratings are anonymous and build a reputation.

Messages are not screened before delivery. Report a person or a 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 only chat with people under 18, and adults only with adults.