Communication 2021: an overview of video chat sites

Reality has changed, and we are not talking about some kind of science fiction scenario. Human communication is rapidly moving online, the number of services available is simply amazing, and you now can talk to a person from the other side of the world from almost anywhere on the planet.

The current situation in the world has only spurred the development of communication services - their number has grown exponentially in the last few years alone. This primarily means platforms for video conferencing and anonymous video chats. There are a lot of them these days, so we decided to consider the most popular among them and study user reviews. We are sure that this article will help many of you to choose the best communication platform for yourself.

Video conferencing services

When it comes to video conferencing services, Skype is the first to come to mind. But let's be honest, it is now a long way from the peak of its popularity, and many rivals have long bypassed the Microsoft application in terms of convenience and functionality. These platforms help you communicate with people whose contacts you already have, are ideal for solving work and educational issues, and allow you to conveniently organize family or friend meetings online. Let's take a look at some of them in more detail.

Microsoft Teams

This is not just a video conferencing platform, but a whole cloud utility where you can communicate, hold briefings and work together on projects of any complexity. All this is based on cloud technology - conveniently and without installing many applications. Users note the useful ability to host online meetings of up to a thousand participants and broadcast online events to ten thousand viewers. Plus Microsoft Teams easily integrates with other services - Jira, Trello, Wrike, and so on.

Google Meet

An alternative to Microsoft Teams from Google. This service also allows you to hold video meetings and online conferences. Up to 250 people can participate in a video meeting at the same time, and the conference can be broadcast for more than 100 thousand viewers. The service is tightly integrated with other Google tools.

Interestingly, Google Meet was initially made for the needs of the business, which is why there were initially practically no reviews from ordinary users. But later it became public and was generally well received by its audience. Especially those people who actively use other Google services.

Discord

Originally this was a gaming communication platform on which one could exchange messages, make video calls and hold joint conferences. But over time, the convenience of Discord was discovered by ordinary Internet users, as a result of which the service gained a much wider audience. Integration with Steam, Skype, Twitch, Youtube, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and other platforms made it an even more interesting option for Internet communication.

Zoom

No rating of video conferencing services is complete without mentioning Zoom. During the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom, as they say, popped. Its audience has grown exponentially. Moreover, many even bought the paid version to remove the restrictions. In a very short time, the company rose in the rankings and made a lot of money. But then there was a massive leak of user data, due to which the credibility of Zoom was noticeably shaken, and the reviews about the site were no longer so positive. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of people around the world continue to use Zoomwith no worries, it seems.

Video chats to find new acquaintances, friends or a mate

Unlike video conferencing services, video chat applications are used first of all, to find new acquaintances, friends and even a soul mate. Most of them select chat partners completely randomly, or on the basis of simple settings - gender, location, language, interests, etc. Like video conferencing services, there are a lot of anonymous web chats today.

Omegle

One of the founders of the anonymous chat format itself. Omegle has been operating since 2009, but initially it was just a text chat. The video calling feature appeared a bit later. Reviews about the site vary widely. Some users praise Omegle for its convenience, simplicity and non-overloading of functions. Others criticize it for poor moderation, lack of important search settings and the absence of mobile applications.

OmeTV

Minimalistic and convenient anonymous video chat application for iOS and Android. Here you can specify your gender, and select the country and language to search for people. This is where the settings pretty much end. In reviews, users call the service very convenient, easy to use and quite functional, but lately, complaints about bans have become more frequent for no apparent reason. And this is really a big minus for many, since communication at any moment can simply be cut off.

Emeraldchat

Perhaps the main thing users mention in Emeraldchat reviews is Karma Rating, a unique feature for the video chat format. Everything depends on this rating - with whom Emeraldchat will connect you, how quickly it will look for partners for you, and so on. Also, the positive aspects of the site are good moderation, fast speeds and the ability to exchange multimedia files in messages. The disadvantages are a smaller number of users and the lack of mobile applications. But the developers promise to fix the latter soon.

CooMeet

CooMeet is an anonymous video chat service that has collected a huge number of positive reviews from a male audience. This is thanks to the fact that the site connects them only with girls. Moreover, each girl confirms her identity when registering, so there are no fakes and bots in CooMeet, and each chat partner is a real girl interested in communication.

Almost every review of CooMeet in the AppStore and Google Play is positive. This is justified - the apps work quickly and have the same functionality as the site. Plus, CooMeet allows you to take advantage of free trial access and personally try out all the features of the site.

Shagle

Shagle is a classic chat roulette without any unique features. There is a gender filter and a search for chat partners by location - Shagle operates in more than 70 countries. It has pleasant little things such as virtual gifts that can be given to other users, but otherwise, this is a standard anonymous video chat. Reviews often say that Shagle lacks individuality, and in many senses this is true.

Bazoocam

Quite a controversial anonymous text and video chat, the attitude of users to which is often very different. Some consider it an excellent alternative to Omegle and its rivals, emphasizing the speed of operation, ease of use and the exclusive function of video streams. Other reviews are far less positive. Bazoocam is criticized for poor moderation, outdated design and a non-intuitive interface, which makes it complex for a new user to operate.

Camsurf

Visually and technically, Camsurf is very similar to OmeTV, as many reviews say. But lately, users have noted that Camsurf has implemented many innovative features. For example, here you can not only indicate your gender and language of communication, but also hide your location, use the safe search function, show a verification badge to other users, enable an introductory message, and much more. Of the minuses, users note that almost all of these functions are paid.

Communication between people will never be the same

No matter how you personally feel about Internet communication, it has become an integral part of the lives of modern people. Every review about CooMeet, Omegle or Bazoocam only proves just how important online communication is today.

It can be safely said that in the near future we'll see many more new services and platforms for communication on the Web. Most of them will most likely use common formats, but it is quite possible that soon we will see something completely new. Just like it was with anonymous video chats, when pioneers like Omegle and Chatroulette changed the very principles of online dating forever. We can only wait and look for the best options for ourselves.