Text strangers online, without your number

The ways people text strangers

There are three common routes, and they carry very different amounts of risk.

• Random one-to-one text chat in a browser. You are matched with one stranger, nobody sees a number or a profile, and you can leave at any moment.
• Chat rooms. You type into a shared conversation with many people, and can often message someone privately from there.
• Swapping numbers or usernames on a messaging app. This is the one that follows you home: once a stranger has your number, they have it for good.

How texting a stranger works here

Choose text chat, give a display name, your gender and your age, and confirm you are 18 or over. You go into a queue and are matched with one other person. From then on it is just typing — no camera, no microphone, and your browser never asks for either.

When you are done, skip and you are matched with someone new. There is no contact list and no way for the other person to find you again, which is exactly the point.

What never to type to a stranger

The whole advantage of texting through a random chat is that nothing identifies you. Keep it that way:

• Your phone number, or a username on an app that shows it.
• Your full name, school, workplace or street.
• Where you live, or any detail that pins down where you are.
• Account details, codes sent to your phone, or anything to do with money.

Red flags that mean skip

Most bad conversations announce themselves early. Skip, and report if it is more than unpleasant, when someone:

• Pushes to move the chat to another app within the first few minutes.
• Asks for your number, your socials or your location.
• Is intensely complimentary almost immediately.
• Mentions money, a gift card, an investment or a problem only you can help with.
• Says they are under 18. This service is for adults only.