Text chat with strangers — anonymous and free

Who text chat is for

Plenty of people want to talk to a stranger without being seen or heard: on a train, in a shared room late at night, on a slow connection, or simply because they are judged on what they say rather than how they look. Text chat is that, with nothing else attached.

It is also the easiest way into a conversation in a second language — reading is far easier than listening in real time.

Translation, on your own device

On desktop Chrome and Edge, strangerly can translate the other person's messages into your language using the browser's built-in translator. It runs on your device, so the chat text is not sent to a translation service. On other browsers, including phones, the option simply does not appear.

Safety in text chat

Text feels safer than video, and mostly it is — but the person on the other side is invisible, so keep a few rules:

• Do not share your real name, number, social handles, school or workplace.
• Do not click links from strangers or move to another app because someone asked.
• Never send money, gift cards or crypto, whatever the story.
• Report or block in one tap. Reports are anonymous, and a blocked person is not matched with you again.

Tips for a text chat that goes somewhere

• Skip "hi" and "asl". Open with a real question about an interest you share.
• Short messages keep the rhythm going; walls of text stall it.
• Start a game of Word Guess or Tic-Tac-Toe if you run out of things to say — it sits right next to the chat.