Omegle shuts down after 14 years amid abuse claims

Omegle

Omegle has put an end to its service after 14 long years. Its founder Leif K-Brooks announced the closer via a statement published on the homepage of the website. In the statement, the founder writes that running the website was “no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically.”

Subsequently, a BBC report on the same mentions that Omegle is linked to over 50 cases involving paedophiles across the UK, US, and Australia. TikTok has banned sharing Omegle links due to concerns about children engaging in inappropriate behaviour on the platform.

The Internet Watch Foundation notes a drastic increase in explicit imagery involving young children during the pandemic, with over 63,000 web pages documented in 2022 compared to 5,000 before the lockdowns, the report adds.

Omegle was released on March 25, 2009, and the online chat website ended operations on Wednesday i.e., November 8, 2023. Leif K-Brooks was 18 years old when we started this site. An old report by The New York Times says that Omegle was close to 150,000 page views per day, soon after it went live. Its homepage http://www.omegle.com now redirects to the Founder’s statement on the closure.

In the statement titled “Dear strangers”, Leif K-Brooks writes explicitly about what led to the creation of the online chat platform. He also notes all the challenges that come along the way with providing a space for anonymous interactions. Leif shares the profound impact the internet had on him, especially as someone who faced personal trauma.

The virtual world became a refuge from the physical threats he felt, a shield that allowed him to connect with others without the immediate risk he faced in the real world. However, as with any tool, Omegle wasn’t immune to misuse. Leif candidly addresses the darker side of the platform, acknowledging that some individuals used it for unspeakable crimes.

In the end, Leif expresses gratitude to those who used Omegle for positive purposes and contributed to its success. The letter serves as a poignant farewell, marking the end of an era for a popular online chat platform.