13+
Minimum age according to Omegle
Omegle’s minimum age is 13, with parental permission. What do you think is the right age for this site?Share your thoughts
Omegle is a social networking site that randomly connects you to another person who’s on the site. It lets you talk to them in a one-to-one audio or video conversation. You can both appear as anonymous, unless you decide to share your personal information.
What do I need to know about Omegle?
We've spoken to parents to find out what they think about Omegle. We've also asked children and young people what they think. Here's what they said:
What do children and young people dislike about it?
31% of the children and young people who reviewed Omegle thought it was unsafe. The main things they told us they don’t like about Omegle were:
What do children and young people like about it?
The main things that children and young people told us they like about Omegle were:
We asked parents and young people about the types of inappropriate content they’ve seen on Omegle. The level of risk is based on the % of respondents who reported seeing these types of content. The ratings are: Low Risk (less than 5% of respondents); Medium Risk (between 5 and 25%); and High Risk (over 25%, or more than one in four).
Sexual
Violence & hatred
Bullying
Suicide & self-harm
Drink, drugs & crime
O2 Guru Camila says:
“Omegle has no security measures in place so we recommend avoiding this app.”
Our O2 NSPCC Online Safety Helpline can help you to set up parental controls, adjust privacy settings or get advice on social networks. You can call us free on 0808 800 5002.
For face to face advice and support, you can also book a free in-store appointment with an O2 Guru here (even if you’re not with O2).
13+
Omegle says
With parent's permission. This is from Omegle’s own guidelines and is accurate as of March 2018.
17+
Our panel of parents say
Based on our independent panel of 2,049 parents, surveyed through YouGov in January 2018.
13+
Children say
Based on 2,059 responses from children and young people in November and December 2017.
13+
Net Aware visitors say
Based on 627 votes from visitors to the Net Aware site – you can vote too.
We asked parents how easy they thought it would be for a child to pretend to be older in order to sign up to Omegle, and whether they had to verify their phone number or email address. Based on these answers, Omegle has received a negative rating for its sign up process.
Here is what a parent said:
We asked parents how easy they thought it would be to find ways to report unsuitable content or behaviour, and how to block people from contacting you. Based on these answers, Omegle has received a neutral rating for its reporting and blocking process.
Here is what a parent said:
We also asked young people who reviewed Omegle whether they knew how to report and block users:
Want to know more?
You can find out more information about reporting here.
We asked parents how easy it was to change the settings so that your profile and account is private, and how easy it is to turn off location settings. Based on these answers, Omegle has received a positive rating for its privacy settings.
Here is what a parent said:
We also asked young people who reviewed Omegle whether they knew how to change privacy and location settings:
Want to know more?
You can find out more information about privacy here.
We asked parents how easy it was to find out whether Omegle has rules or community standards, and how easy it would be for a young person to find information about keeping themselves safe on this platform. Based on these answers, Omegle has received a neutral rating for its safety and support.
Here is what a parent said:
Having open, regular conversations with your child will enable you to really understand and explore the online world together, helping you to keep them safe online. Our tips and advice can help you start having these conversations.
Most sites have ways to report stuff that’s upsetting. Shall we take a look?Other relevant resources:
Yubo
Yubo is an app where you can connect and chat to people. You can video chat and watch live videos.
Facebook & Messenger
Facebook and Messenger is a social network to create a page about yourself and talk to others.
Snapchat
Snapchat lets you send messages or 'snaps' to contacts, which appear for up to 10 seconds.
