Rules for a video call that stays pleasant
Short rules, one question each. A quick read now saves an awkward call later.
Calls for adults who have reached 18
Is the chat open to everyone?
No. Adults only, from the eighteenth birthday on, with no clever workarounds.
Younger visitors wait for the big day. Cake first, video chat second.
Someone on screen who looks underage? End the call straight away.
If a child may be at risk, tell the police.
Is a heated argument allowed?
Disagreeing is fine. Insulting is not.
Threats, slurs, jokes at someone's accent, body, faith or orientation: all out.
Awkward silence is no offence. Nor is a polite goodbye before skipping ahead.
A stranger mumbling through a mouthful of toast is not breaking anything either. That is just breakfast.
Plainly off the table
Insults, threats and hate aimed at anyone
Anyone still short of eighteen, on either side
Pasted ads, shop links and channel promotion
Pleas for money or gifts
A held-up picture, a playing video or a looped recording instead of the live lens
Can a call be used to sell something?
No ads, and no links to a shop, a channel or a profile pushed on a stranger.
The same goes for one message pasted into call after call.
Asking for money before even saying hello tells everything about the asker.
Close the call. Next.
Why must the camera show a live person?
Real camera, real person, right now. That is the whole deal.
Pointing the lens at another display or a photograph proves nothing and says nothing.
Nobody is expected to look glamorous. A tired face in a kitchen with a kettle behind it is exactly right.
Once a conversation sours
Stay calm
Nothing said by a stranger is worth an argument. Skip the reply.
End the call
One press, and the other person is gone. Staying polite to the bitter end is never required.
Pick up with someone new
Hit next, a fresh attempt at a match begins, and the evening goes on.
Do accounts and payments change any of this?
Starting here takes no account. These pages deal with conduct only.
Optional login and paid extras run on their own conditions, set out in the chat when they become relevant.
Whatever this site stores on a device has its own page: privacy.
Rules done, over to the camera
Eighteen-plus only. Start free.
Video calls with strangers, openers included
Ring up a video chat