Why did Omegle shut down?

What the founder said

Leif K-Brooks, who created Omegle in 2009, announced the closure in a note on omegle.com. According to reports by NPR, the Associated Press and Business Insider, he wrote that the site had been meant to connect people, but that some had misused it, including to commit serious crimes against others. He said that fighting that misuse had become unsustainable, both financially and psychologically.

The lawsuit reported around the closure

A lawsuit in an Oregon federal court, A.M. v. Omegle.com LLC, alleged that Omegle's design had matched a minor with an adult who abused her. Those were the plaintiff's allegations. In July 2022, the court declined to dismiss some of the claims on the basis of Section 230, a US law that protects websites from liability for what users post. That was a ruling at an early stage, not a finding that Omegle was liable. Business Insider reported that the company settled the suit days before the shutdown announcement. We found no reliable report of the settlement terms.

What we couldn't confirm

• The exact amount of any settlement. The figure sometimes quoted online is the amount the plaintiff sought, not a reported settlement.
• Whether any other legal or regulatory pressure played a part in the decision. We found no reliable reporting on that.

What it means when you choose a replacement

• Age rules matter. Look for a service that states 18+ clearly and asks for a date of birth, rather than just a tick box. No service can fully verify age, so reporting matters too.
• Safety tools should be easy to reach. You should be able to skip, report and block in one tap, and blocking should stop you meeting that person again.
• Check what's recorded or stored, and read the privacy policy, not just the homepage.
• Check who runs it and how to contact them.

Where kynq fits

kynq is for adults 18 and over in India. We ask for your date of birth before you can match, but we can't verify it against an ID, so we also rely on reports. Video and audio aren't recorded or stored by kynq, and skip, report and block are in the call controls. None of that makes any random chat risk-free.

Questions people ask

When did Omegle shut down?

On 8 November 2023, when its founder announced the closure in a note on omegle.com.

Why did Omegle shut down?

Its founder said fighting misuse of the site had become unsustainable, financially and psychologically. A lawsuit in Oregon had also been reported, and was reported settled days before the announcement.

Did Omegle lose the lawsuit?

We found no report of a verdict. In July 2022 the court declined to dismiss some claims on Section 230 grounds, which was an early-stage ruling. The company was reported to have settled.

Who created Omegle?

Leif K-Brooks, who founded it in 2009.

Is Omegle back?

We found no reliable report that it has returned. See our page on whether Omegle is back.