The Covid-19 epidemic has caused millions of people to spend much more time at home. And if at first it was perceived as an opportunity to take a break from a stuffy office or a noisy university, over time people became frankly bored. They have seen every possible film and serials, they have played enough computer games, and they have read all the books they wanted. It is not surprising that many people started looking for entertainment on the Internet.

People spend their leisure time on the web in a variety of ways:

• Throwing real online Zoom parties. By the way, according to BusinessOfApps.com, in March 2020, the number of video calls on Zoom reached 200 million per day. And in April - 300 million.

• Meeting on dating websites and communicating in numerous anonymous video chats, which are experiencing a real surge in popularity in recent months.

• Organizing joint movie nights being far from each other.

• Playing cooperative computer games. In the spring of 2020, a record was set for Steam attendance - 20.3 million online users.

• Arranging virtual tours in Google Maps using the built-in Street View tool.

Add all sorts of master classes, webinars, online training and more. Many people were finally able to devote time to self-education and activities that were constantly postponed before. And this is definitely an advantage!

Omegle experienced a second wave of popularity

The first ever anonymous video chat Omegle was launched more than 10 years ago on March 25, 2009. According to the statistics service Alexa, now the website is in ± 3100 position among all websites in the world, and the average time a user spends on the website is 3:25 minutes. Every day, users enter more than 2,800 Omegle queries into search engines.

The first surge in popularity of this chat roulette came in 2010, when the daily number of participants reached two million people. Then services similar to Omegle began to appear en masse, due to which the audience significantly decreased. To be more precise, it was simply distributed among different chat roulettes. As a consequence, over the years, the popularity of Omegle has gradually declined. But then the coronavirus pandemic began in 2019. And this became a new impetus for millions of people to return to their "origins" again. Omegle, as a proven and well-known resource, has once again become in high demand.

This is clearly indicated by statistics. If before the pandemic there were up to 20 thousand users online at the same time, now, even on a weekday, this figure often exceeds 25 thousand. 

The growth of website traffic on Google Trends portal is well traced. In particular, we are interested in the subsection "Popularity dynamics", where you can see a graph for the year with an assessment from 1 to 100 points. The picture is as follows:

• October 2019- 43-45 points;

• March 2020 - 87-88 points;

• October 2020 - 92-93 points.

Simply put, by the fall of this year, Omegle approached its peak popularity. The indicator of 100 points was achieved only once - in 2013, after which it began to decline. Perhaps the picture will repeat itself soon. Judging by the dynamics, this can happen as early as December 2020.

Why Omegle Fired Again

Naturally, the rise in popularity of video chats was expected. Millions of people have stayed at home for weeks and months. And the Internet has become the only entertainment for many. But it wasn't just trivial boredom that helped popularize Omegle.

Many popular bloggers and public figures came to Omegle. They, in turn, lured their own audience into the chat roulette. For example, posting funny moments from web chat, chatting with fans or just random users.

It is quite possible to meet world-class stars in video chats. Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Sting, Matthew McConaughey and others have appeared here at various times. It's funny that some people do not recognize celebrities. Some users immediately switch to the next interlocutor.

Anyway, Omegle is breaking records again. And this is probably not the limit. What opportunities does the website offer its users right now? Let's get a look!

Omegle instruments which you can use

So Omegle is a classic anonymous chat roulette. You just go to the website, and it connects you with a random interlocutor. To do this, you do not need to register, enter any data, and such.

The basic functionality of the website is rather limited. Especially when compared with similar resources. However, you have quite a few useful tools. For instance:

1. Text or video chat. On the main page, you will see Text and Video buttons. It is enough to click on one of them depending on your preference.

2. Search for dates based on interests. The website has a special section where you can write your interests. For example, movies, music, computer games, numismatics - whatever it is. This helps the website to more accurately select interlocutors for you. But don't overdo it with the number of interests. The more there are, the longer it will take Omegle to find the right person. Two or three words are enough.

3. Student chat. If you are a student of a university, you can set up communication only with other students. To do this, select the "College student chat" item and enter the official Email of your educational institution.

4. Language selection. If you leave this field unchanged, the system will match interlocutors by geolocation so that your communication language matches. However, you can specify the language manually. At the same time, Omegle will connect you only with those who have chosen the same language. This is a great opportunity to expand your social circle and improve your language skills.

5. "For adults" section. Designed exclusively for users over 18 years of age. There are often explicit materials and broadcasts.

6. Unmoderated section. This is an excellent option for those who want to communicate without any restrictions on any topic. Although, experience shows that not the most adequate users usually are active here. If you just want to have a nice chat and meet interesting people, it is better to skip this section.

Does Omegle have any disadvantages? Certainly. Perhaps the main one is not the best moderation. Every now and then here you may come across inadequate users, Internet trolls or scammers. Therefore, you need to be especially careful and responsible, observe online safety rules and disconnect from interlocutors who cause you any suspicions.

If you want more handy tools or are looking for chat roulettes with better moderation, it's worth considering analogs. Fortunately, there are hundreds of them today, and most of them are completely free or with some optional paid features.

Why is 2020 the best time to discover anonymous video chats?

As you know, the first reports of COVID-19 coronavirus outbreaks appeared at the end of December 2019. And at the beginning of 2020, countries began to actively introduce quarantine measures. Millions of people began to study and work from home, and communication and dating moved online.

Now there are more people on the Internet than ever before. They meet, communicate, meet in real life and have strong relationships. Why don't you discover the chat roulette format for yourself? It doesn't matter if it's Omegle or a different service. The main thing is to try, find like-minded people and just have a nice time during the quarantine period. And if for some reason you have never used anonymous chat roulettes in more than ten years, now is the time to fix it. Perhaps, they will become not just a cure for boredom, but also something more. Enjoy your acquaintances!