AnonyChat: Frequently asked questions

What is AnonyChat?

AnonyChat is a chat platform for adults (18+) with public chat rooms, a random chat feature called Meet, direct messages and friends. You take part under a display name you choose, in your browser or as an installable app.

Is AnonyChat anonymous?

Yes, in the way that matters: no phone number and no real name are ever asked for, and your login username, e-mail address, date of birth and IP address are never shown to other users. What you do have is one public display name, a permanent User ID and a profile, so people can recognise you across conversations. Being anonymous to other people is not the same as being untraceable — the privacy policy sets out what the operator holds and for how long.

Do I need a phone number or an e-mail address?

No phone number is ever needed. An e-mail address is optional and is only used for account recovery and security once you confirm it. Every account also gets a one-time recovery code.

Who can use AnonyChat?

Only adults aged 18 or over. When you register you give your date of birth and declare that you are 18 or older. There is no ID or face check when you sign up. An account reported as possibly under 18 can be paused until the person proves they are 18 or over or a moderator or the Owner decides; where the operator has switched it on and the optional age check is available, the pause is automatic once several members have reported the account within a few days. The person can reply. An account that passed the check is not asked again.

How does random chat work?

Meet shows you cards of people who are online now and whose "Interested in" setting matches yours in both directions. Swipe right to open a conversation, left to skip. A match on its own creates no conversation and no friendship.

Can I create my own chat room?

Yes. Members can create a room by spending Aura and become its owner, with their own rules and room moderators. Official rooms are run by AnonyChat staff.

Can strangers message me?

Only if they meet the contact threshold you set, measured in Aura. In a new conversation they can send text only; photos and videos unlock after you have both written. You can block anyone at any time.

How long are messages kept?

Rooms keep at most the last 50 messages and nothing older than 7 days. Direct messages keep at most the last 40 messages per conversation and nothing older than 7 days. Photos and videos are deleted with their message. The only exceptions are copies of reported content and specific records under a legal hold.

What is Aura?

Aura is AnonyChat's reputation and currency in one number. You earn it by taking part in conversations. It shows on your profile and can be spent on gifts, creating rooms, changing your display name or avatar styles; spending lowers it.

How do I report something?

Open the options of the message, photo or video and choose Report. For content you believe is illegal, anyone can use the illegal content notice form, with or without an account. You can also block the person.

Are my photos and videos scanned automatically?

Some checks run automatically, but only those the operator has switched on; the Safety page lists the ones running now. Where they are on: uploaded photos and the first frame of videos are compared with lists of known child sexual abuse material (Microsoft PhotoDNA) before anyone sees them — in direct messages only if that is switched on as well — and a match is refused, reported and its account banned automatically; photos in public rooms not marked NSFW (never private rooms or Prison cells) are checked for adult content (Microsoft Azure AI Content Safety), and one that looks like adult content is refused or posted blurred, with no sanction on the account; a photo in a message someone reports, or posted in an official room, can be sent to OpenAI for an automated safety score that only staff see; and photos posted in rooms (never in direct messages) are read on our own server for web addresses, keeping only the result, never the text. Everything else is enforced through reports, room moderators and platform staff, and people decide. Separately, where the "Check if photo is online" feature is available, someone who can see a photo you sent can ask to check whether it appears elsewhere on the web. The privacy policy explains what each of these sends, and to whom.

Are my messages checked automatically?

Only in official rooms, and only where the operator has switched it on. Then every message posted in an official room — one of the rooms AnonyChat itself runs — is sent, without who wrote it, to OpenAI in the United States for an automated safety score. A message that check flags is reported to our moderators, who decide; nothing is removed automatically. The result is kept beside the message for a limited number of days, never a copy of your text, and goes when the message is deleted. Rooms people create, direct messages, Prison cells and profiles are not checked. Separately, a message someone reports can be sent to OpenAI for a score staff see on the report. The privacy policy says what is sent and what is kept.

Which languages is AnonyChat available in?

The interface is available in several languages: pick yours from the language menu, or in Settings once you have an account. The legal documents are currently in English only.

How do I pay for Coins?

Coins are an optional balance you buy and spend inside AnonyChat, wherever these are offered: on gifts, avatar items, commissioned custom items, Aura+ and Bot Pro for a room's bot. When they are on sale, they are paid with Bitcoin over the Lightning Network, from any Lightning wallet. AnonyChat never asks for your name, an ID or a card.

Can I delete my account?

Yes, from your account settings. Deleting your account removes your profile, your remaining room messages and your direct messages. You can download a copy of your data first.