Video chat service Omegle is shutting down, and navigating to the service now greets users with a lengthy statement regarding its closure.
The chat service was started by Leif K-Brooks in 2009 when he was just 18 years old. K-Brooks announced the shutdown in a recent blog post explaining how and why Omegle was created. K-Brooks says he believes that meeting new people is a basic human need.
While he doesn’t offer specifics regarding the shutdown, K-Brooks admits that people have misused the service and that some have even done unspeakably heinous crimes through Omegle. Unlike most chat platforms, Omegle allowed users to converse with strangers without creating an account, randomly pairing them with another user based on shared interests.
He goes on to say that Omegle has worked with law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to combat these issues. K-Brooks also says there are “people” rotting behind bars due to evidence Omegle proactively collected and tipped authorities off to.
The platform’s creator says that, ultimately, Omegle is no longer sustainable, financially or psychologically.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who used Omegle for positive purposes and to everyone who contributed to the site’s success in any way. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep fighting for you,” said Omegle creator K-Brooks.
Omegle shutdown was part of a settlement in a child sex abuse lawsuithttps://t.co/y5SEC89ndNhttps://t.co/ei2ObhqvV1
— Jason Koebler (@jason_koebler) November 9, 2023
According to 404 Media reporter Jason Koebler, A 2021 lawsuit filed against Omegle accusing the website of pairing an 11-year-old girl with a sexual predator played a significant role in the platform shutting down as its closure is included in the settlement.
Source: Omegle, @Jason_Koebler
