How to stay safe on a random video call
The other person is a stranger. Treat the first minute like you would treat any other stranger who can see your room.
Random Video Call matches two adults who both tapped Start. That is useful and it is also the entire risk: you have not met this person, you do not know their name, and your camera is on. Safety is less about clever software and more about habits you repeat until they are boring.
Set the scene before you tap Start
Look at what is behind you. Mail, ID cards, school uniforms, other people’s photos, and recognizable street signs all leak information you did not mean to give away. Headphones help if you do not want the rest of the house in the conversation. If you would not take a video call from an unknown number in this room, do not start a random match from it either.
The first thirty seconds
You are allowed to say hello and leave. You are allowed to say nothing and tap Next. People who push you to “prove” you are real, to move the chat to another app immediately, or to turn the camera toward someone else in the house are telling you how the rest of the call will go. Leave.
If the incoming video is empty, dark, or blurred, wait a beat. The app may be blurring because it cannot see a face — that is a safety default, not a dare. If it stays wrong, hang up. You do not need a reason that would stand up in court.
What not to share
- Phone number, home or work address, school name, or a live location.
- Bank details, OTP codes, “verification” links, or anything that looks like a job-from-home pitch.
- Photos of children, even your own, and any document that shows a date of birth under 18.
- Passwords or the email you used to sign up. We will never ask for your password in a call.
Report vs block
Block means you do not want this account matched with you again. Report means you think they broke the rules: harassment, sexual content you did not want, suspected under-18, threats, or spam. Use report from inside the call when you can. That is how evidence from the video you saw can be attached. Emailing us later without a report is better than silence, but it is a weaker starting point.
More detail: what happens after you tap.
After the call
If a call shook you, take a break. Do not sit in the queue hoping the next person will “make up for it.” If you accepted a friend request and regret it, unfriend. If you need the account gone, delete it. If you think a child is involved, tell us and tell local authorities — we are not a substitute for emergency services.
The product rules are in Community Standards and Child Safety. This article is the human version of those pages.