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'{{Infobox Website |name = Omegle |logo = [[Image:Omegle.png]] |screenshot = |caption = |url = [http://www.omegle.com/ Omegle.com] |alexa = 3,500 ({{as of|2012|8|2|alt=August 2012}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/omegle.com |title= Omegle.com Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2012-08-02 }}</ref><!--Updated monthly by OKBot.--> |commercial = |type = [[Online chat]], [[voice chat]], [[Videotelephony|video chat]] |language = all |registration = |owner = |author = Leif K-Brooks |launch date = March 25, 2008 |revenue = |slogan = Talk to strangers! }} '''Omegle''' is a free [[online chat]] website that allows users to communicate with strangers without [[Registered user|registering]]. MOST PEOPLE ON IT ARE PORN FREAKS OR PEDOPHILES WHO WANT TO SEE YOU NAKED.The service randomly pairs users in one-on-one chat sessions where they chat anonymously using the handles "You" and "Stranger". The site was created by 18-year-old Leif K-Brooks of [[Brattleboro, Vermont]], and was launched on March 25, 2008.<ref>{{cite web | last = Brooks | first = Leif | title = Welcome to the Omegle blog!| date = March 30, 2008 | url =http://omegler.blogspot.com/2009/03/welcome-to-omegle-blog.html }}{{dead link|date=August 2010}}</ref><ref name="thaindian">{{cite web | title = Omegle chat program can help you find love anonymously | date = April 14, 2008| url = http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/omegle-chat-program-can-help-you-find-love-anonymously_100179374.html}}</ref> Its logo contains an omega (Ω) turned diagonally. On March 14, 2009, Omegle introduced a [[video conferencing]] feature in addition to text chatting. Less than a month after its March 2008 launch, Omegle garnered around 150,000 [[page views]] a day.<ref>{{cite news | last = Quenqua| first = Douglas | title = Tired of Old Web Friends? A New Site Promises Strangers | publisher = The New York Times| date = April 26, 2009 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/internet/27omegle.html}}</ref> The use of the mandatory chatnames "You" and "Stranger", the "Talk to Strangers!" slogan of the site, and prompts such as "Your conversational partner has disconnected" at the end of a chat appeared to fuel the popularity of the site.<ref> {{cite web | last = Thomas | first = Owen | title = Omegle! This Teenager Wants You to Chat with a Stranger | publisher = [[Gawker]] | date = March 31, 2009 | url = http://gawker.com/5192447/omegle-this-teenager-wants-you-to-chat-with-a-stranger}}</ref> The kind of chat that Omegle popularized is called anonymous chat, [[stranger chat]], or 1-on-1 chat. Comparisons have been made to early-1990s [[AOL]].<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Brien |first=Terrence |url=http://www.switched.com/2009/04/02/omegle-com-lets-you-anonymously-mess-with-complete-strangers?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_engadget |title=Omegle.com Lets You Anonymously Mess With Complete Strangers |publisher=Switched.com |date=2009-04-02 |accessdate=2010-03-17}}</ref> The site now provides an Omegle mobile application that lets users chat with strangers from an Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, or Palm webOS device.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/anonymity-taken-to-the-next-level-omegle-1179359.html |title=Anonymity taken to the next level – Omegle |publisher=Articlesbase.com |date= |accessdate=2010-03-17}}</ref> ==Features== Omegle allows its visitors to use a list of user-defined interestes and [[Facebook Connect]] in order to meet strangers with common interests. The feature accomplishes this by observing which pages the users had "liked" on [[Facebook]], although if the search for similar interests times out, the user will instead be paired randomly. The site uses anti-spam software, known as [[reCAPTCHA]], which periodically challenges users in order to prevent [[spam (electronic)|spam]] messages being sent by automated bots.{{citation needed|date = June 2011}} As of late 2012, IP-bans have been issued to users who have broken the terms of use for a period of time, two weeks, according to some sources. Attempts to access the site result in the user being redirected to pornographic sites. This also affects other users, should they share the same IP address as the offender. Omegle includes a "Spy Mode", which allows a user to suggest a topic for two other users to discuss. The person who asked the question may not particpatite in the discussion, and simply observes. ==Controversy== Omegle contains a disclaimer that asks that no-one under age 13 may use Omegle and no-one under 18 may use it without parents' permission. Participants' IP addresses are recorded and stored for up to 120 days, according to the site's privacy policy. The privacy policy also explains that users who save chat logs have their IP addresses stored on Omegle's servers indefinitely, and that using video chat involves an exchange of IP addresses between participants' computers. Storing IP addresses is for "purposes of law enforcement."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://omegle.com/enwiki/static/privacy.html|title=Omegle privacy policy|date=2012-10-27 |accessdate=2012-10-31}}</ref> The site does not censor contributions through a profanity filter, and a user may encounter nudity or sexual content on camera.<ref name="bbctech">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8539701.stm|title=Chatroulette and Omegle: chat rooms with a twist| publisher=BBC News |date=2010-03-24 |accessdate=2010-06-06}}</ref> K-Brooks has acknowledged the questionable content of the site, at one time expressing "disappointment" at the way in which the site has been used.<ref name="bbctech"/> ==See also== *[[Tinychat]] *[[Zumbl]] *[[Chatroulette]] *[[Text roulette]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.omegle.com Official Site] [[Category:Internet properties established in 2009]] [[Category:Internet culture]] [[Category:Online chat]] [[Category:World Wide Web]] [[Category:Websites]] [[Category:Web applications]] [[cy:Omegle]] [[de:Omegle]] [[es:Omegle]] [[fr:Omegle]] [[id:Omegle]] [[it:Omegle]] [[pt:Omegle]] [[ru:Omegle]] [[simple:Omegle]] [[fi:Omegle]] [[sv:Omegle]] [[tr:Omegle]] [[zh:Omegle]]'