Chatting safely as a woman on Omadle

Harassment is against the rules

Harassing, threatening or intimidating other users is against our Terms of Service. If someone treats you that way, the fault is theirs, not yours. You never owe anyone an explanation for stopping a conversation, declining a call or blocking them.

You choose who you talk to

Nobody is paired with you at random. The lobby lists everyone currently online, and a conversation starts when you choose, for example by tapping someone in the list, or when someone messages you. Filters narrow the list by country, gender and age range, so you can start chats with the people you'd like to meet. Our guide to making friends and filtering the lobby covers the filters.

Photos, links and calls wait until you've talked

In a one-on-one chat, nobody can send you a photo or a link, or call you, until you've messaged them, been in a group chat with them, or you're friends. Group invites follow the same rule: a group's members can invite you only if you've messaged them, been in a group chat together, or you're friends. A call is a request you can accept or decline, and you can hang up at any moment.

Photos and video show only when you choose

Photos shared in chats, and others' cameras and shared screens, stay blurred until you choose to view them. A photo you receive has a View photo button, and someone's video has View video; nobody is told whether you looked at their video. During a call, Stop their video stops their picture while you still hear them. Turning your own camera on is always your choice, and anything on camera or on your screen can be captured by anyone in the call.

Turn off what you don't want

• Turning off "Allow call requests" in Edit profile, or tapping Turn off all call requests on any request, stops call requests from everyone.
• Turning off "Allow group invites" in Edit profile stops group invites, and every invite also offers a button to turn them all off.
• Appear offline hides your online status from the lobby and others' lists, so you can browse quietly.
• Turning off "Show my region and city" leaves only your country as your location.
• You don't have to share your gender: Prefer not to say is one of the choices when you sign up, and you can change it any time in Edit profile. With Prefer not to say, you don't appear when someone filters the lobby by gender.

Our presence guide covers what Appear offline hides and what it doesn't, and our guide to your profile shows what others see about you.

Block and report, and do both

Blocking someone is instant and silent: they can no longer message you or add you to group chats, you won't see them in the lobby, and they aren't told. It also stops their call requests and ends any call with them straight away (in a group call, you leave it). Reporting someone sends a report to moderators, who review reports and act on them, and serious violations can lead to an account being suspended or banned. If someone harasses you, do both: block them so it stops immediately, and report them so the account doesn't just move on to someone else. If they come back under a new name, block and report that account too. Our reporting and moderation guide explains what happens after you report someone.

Keep personal details to yourself

These tools put you in control, but they don't replace your own judgment. Don't share personal information with strangers, and slow down if someone you've just met asks for your phone number or to move to another app. Our safety guide covers the habits that make the biggest difference.