No. Omegle closed for good on 8 November 2023, after 14 years. Its founder, Leif K-Brooks, said running it was “no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically”. You may have seen posts saying it’s back, so here’s what’s actually going on.
What happened to Omegle
Omegle put two random strangers together in a text or video chat. It was hugely popular, and it was also badly misused. The BBC reported that the site had been mentioned in more than 50 cases against paedophiles in the couple of years before it closed, and it shut down days after settling a lawsuit brought by a woman who was matched with an abuser as a child.
In his farewell letter, reported by NPR, K-Brooks wrote: “There can be no honest accounting of Omegle without acknowledging that some people misused it, including to commit unspeakably heinous crimes.”
What’s on omegle.com right now?
For a long time the domain just showed that farewell letter. When we checked on 30 October 2026, omegle.com showed an “Omegle is launching soon” page promising age and safety protections and safety monitoring. It gives no launch date, no product details and no sign that the original founder or team is involved.
So if something does launch there, it’s likely to be a new service using a famous name, not the Omegle people remember.
Watch out for “Omegle” copycats
Plenty of sites and apps borrow the name. Internet Matters, the UK online safety organisation, warns that there’s no official Omegle app and that sites using the name are copycats. Treat them like any stranger-chat service you’ve never heard of: don’t share your name or where you live, and leave anyone who pushes you to move to another app.
Why the original isn’t coming back
The rules have got stricter, not looser. In the UK, the Online Safety Act means services that connect strangers have to assess and reduce the risks to their users, especially to children. Any honest relaunch would need far stronger safety than Omegle ever had, and that wouldn’t be the same product.
If you miss talking to strangers
What a lot of people miss about Omegle is the spark of a real conversation with someone you’d never otherwise meet. You don’t need a webcam for that. That’s why I built Strangiva, a voice-only app for iPhone:
- Tap once and you’re talking one to one with a stranger somewhere in the world, by voice only. No video, no profile photos.
- No sign-up. No email, no phone number, no username.
- Calls are encrypted and never recorded. Block and report are in every call. See the safety page.
- Keep lets you both choose to talk again, but only if you both tap it.
- For adults (18+).
Looking for options? Read our list of the best Omegle alternatives in 2026, or see Strangiva as an Omegle alternative built around voice.
Questions people ask
Is Omegle back?
No. The original Omegle shut down permanently on 8 November 2023. In October 2026, omegle.com shows a “launching soon” page with no launch date.
Is there an official Omegle app?
No. Apps using the Omegle name are not the original.
Why did Omegle shut down?
Its founder said running it was no longer sustainable, financially or psychologically, because of how it was being misused.
What’s a safer way to talk to strangers?
Look for something without video, without profiles that reveal who you are, with block and report in every chat, and that’s clearly for adults. Strangiva is voice only and 18+.