After 14 years of operation, Omegle, an online chat site for strangers, shut down
IT Home reported on November 9 that Omegle is a free online chat site for strangers, which was created by Leif K-Brooks in the United States in 2009. But after 14 years of operation, the site announced its closure, which founder K-Brooks said was due to financial and psychological stress.
Omegle's mission is to allow strangers to meet online and meet new people through random matchmaking. If the user doesn't want to continue chatting with the person they match, they can end the chat at any time and switch to the next person.
IT Home noticed that the Omegle company announced the closure of the website on Wednesday, accompanied by a picture of a tombstone, marking the end of Omegle.
Leif K-Brooks, founder of Omegle, said that the abuse of the platform has become difficult to defend against, and that "in recent years, it seems that the whole world has become more irritable... Whatever the reason, people have become more aggressive and harder to recognize each other's common humanity, and one aspect of this is the ongoing attacks on communication services, including Omegle. ”
K-Brooks called Omegle a direct target of the attack, making it impossible to maintain the sustainability of the service: "As much as I wish things were different, the pressure and cost of this fight — combined with the existing pressures and costs of running Omegle and fighting abuse — is simply too great." Running Omegle is no longer sustainable, both financially and psychologically. Frankly, I don't want to have a heart attack in my 30s. ”
K-Brooks, an 18-year-old teenager who launched the platform in 2009 from the bedroom of his parents' home in Vermont, said he never imagined it would grow to such a scale: "Over the years, people have used Omegle to explore foreign cultures, seek life advice from unbiased third parties, and help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation." I've even heard of people who met their soulmates on Omegle and got married, and these are just some of the highlights. ”
However, there is also a dark side to the platform, with multiple reports showing that some users have taken advantage of the site's anonymity to carry out attacks on unsuspecting young people, including cases of abduction and abuse. "Omegle can't be honest without acknowledging that some people have misused Omegle, including committing unbelievably heinous crimes," K-Brooks said.
K-Brooks alleges that Omegle regulates the platform and works with law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to combat criminals who abuse services.
K-Brooks thanked everyone who used Omegle for positive reasons and contributed to the site's success, "I'm sorry I can't continue to fight for you," K-Brooks said.