10 years ago and still in my teenage years, I was an avid user of Omegle. I always had great conversations then with people coming from different parts of the globe, especially during the wee hours of the morning. I had real conversations, and some even became my online friends whom I follow on social media today. Then I tried using the app just recently and was utterly disappointed with my experience.
Out of 10 chats, I only had 1 semi-decent conversation with a female from Austria—well, that’s what she told me. It was semi-decent because after exchanges of some basic information and why we’re both online in Omegle, she frankly asked for a picture of my private part in exchange for hers. I asked her how many photos has she collected for the day and she said around 20-30 from different men in Omegle! Crazy.
From those 10 chats, 6 were an invitation to add their usernames in Kik and links to their x-rated profiles. These might be bots spreading malware because they message and disconnect faster than I can type ‘Hi’. Two chats disconnected with me after they learned that I was a male. The last one on my experience list disconnected when I told the user from the other end that I was already 30.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever get a decent conversation from a stranger through Omegle anymore these days, so I’m just going to stick to other social and dating apps. -Lorin, 30
Omegle is great for people who just wants to kill time, like me! Whenever I fell lonely, or sometimes if I want help for my homeworks, I use the site. However, it is not very good if you are trying to find someone special for you. I don't think there are users out there who are looking for something real. -Maki, 25
Design and Usability
Omegle was created back in the year 2008—when design and aesthetics were not a priority and not as important compared to how it is today. 10 years since its launch, the website still has not done any website redesign. But even with Omegle’s outdated design, the website app still possesses a straightforward and uncomplicated interface that users of any age can use.
During a live chat, the field text box is big enough to see your overall text no matter how many characters you use. The enter/return button on your keyboard automatically becomes a send button. The exit chat button can also be easily found on the lower left-hand side. You have to click the button twice to successfully exit the chat.
Omegle Controversy
Omegle has faced a lot of controversies through the years the website has been active. Many child predators used the website app to lure underage users into sending them nudes and some even trick the minors to meeting them face-to-face. This was due to the lack of underage security of the app—anyone can access and use it, and monitoring of the video chats by Omegle.
The website also used to have no profanity filter, so nudity and sexual content were pervasive within the website. But today, Omegle claims that all video chats are now monitored but still imperfect. They also actively ban users who abuse their stated terms and conditions.